Twists of Fate
by chocopeanutplease
Summary: funny how their lives seemed to be manipulated by something unworldly and abstract that they could not control... Tsukasa and Tsukushi will enter an arranged marriage... but it seems that Tsukasa likes someone else...
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot... and some extra characters... though both are not yet noticeable in this prologue... (well, what can I say? It's a prologue for crying out loud!)

** Twists of Fate **

_Prologue _

_by: chocopeanutplease _

...I hate you and your stupid personality  
But now, I am by your side.  
I'm stuck with you with nowhere else to go  
Since you have made me your bride...

...You annoy me. You irk me.  
I can't help but let these feelings show  
But I need you to get what is rightfully mine.  
I'm now in love with you never wanting to let you go...

...Everything I care for is gone.  
Nothing is left to give me some glee.  
I love you but I must let you go,  
for your happiness does not rest with me...

How can these three individuals fight against their own fate with their choices and feelings?

Will everything fall into place somehow?

Can they accept their fate as it is or fight against it for their happiness?

Probably not, if their happiness lies in their fate...

They just haven't noticed it yet...

When?

When will these three idiots notice that everything is right before their eyes for the taking?

When?

When will they notice?

When will they notice that what they have been looking incessantly for is right before them?

Probably wouldn't even notice it 'til it hits them in the eye...

The sun itself sees not 'til heaven clears...

Why?

Why is it so hard to say?

Why is it so hard to accept the feelings that are starting to unfold?

Stupid people.

Idiots.

Baka.

Weird prologue? hehe... here's the summary...

Tsukasa agreed to an arranged marriage with Tsukushi, a marriage arranged two generations before them. (it's what we wanted in the first place! Sadly, there's no love between them... yet.)

Tsukasa: I did? Gross...  
Tsukushi: Hey! Watch what you're saying, idiot!  
Tsukasa: Why, you-!

Tsukasa agreed even though he was in love with another girl. (hmmm... who could that lucky girl be? How I wish it was me... space out...)

Rui comes to steal Tsukushi from Tsukasa. (as always... I love Rui when he does that... don't you?... hehe... but this is a Tsukasa-Tsukushi fic at the moment though I am not sure yet... I just love that couple! it would be so much better though if I am in Tsukushi's place... ha! how I wish... if only there's a real-life Tsukasa... wink wink)

Rui: here I come...  
Tsukushi: Rui!  
Tsukasa: eh? what the hell... I'm the main character here!  
Rui & Tsukushi: You wish!

A lot of extra characters are coming up...  
Please read to find out and review if you want me to continue this story...  
Arigatou minna!


	2. Chapter 1 A Letter for Rui

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot...

** Twists of Fate **

_Chapter One - A Letter for Rui _

_by: chocopeanutplease _

A familiar sound reached his ears while he was trying to catch some sleep. He absolutely hated that sound when he was in his current condition then. What kind of condition, you might ask? It was the span of time in a person's daily routine when a person closes his eyes and forgets about the world, the span of time when he wanders in dreamland. Sleep.

Sleep. It was what this guy loves best and does best. In his room in which the only furniture was the bed situated right in the middle of the deserted room and a reclined couch located near the windows stretching from the ceiling to a normal person's knee, it seemed that all he could do to let time pass was sleep.

And that's what he was currently doing then. Sleeping. It was an inconvenient truth though, that due to a possession of a certain cell phone, he couldn't avoid its obnoxious ringing (a loud ringing at that) due to a certain person who didn't seem to have anything to do in life but to continually disturb his peace.

"Hmmm," Hanazawa Rui voiced to his phone waiting for the other line to respond. He didn't even have enough energy and enthusiasm to bring himself to say a concrete word to the disturber of his peace.

"Rui!" was the excited response of the person who called him.

'That idiot,' Rui thought the moment he was awake enough to recognize the voice on the other line.

"Rui? Rui?! Are you still there? Were you sleeping just now? Did I wake you up? You sleepy head. You really need to shorten your sleeping time, you know. Eight hours is enough for a guy at your age! Studies say that lengthy sleep can cause patterned baldness to teenage guys. You should keep that in mind, all right? Geez! You should be thankful to have a genius friend like me to be concerned about your health…" Tsukasa was out of breath after saying all those stuff to Rui. He didn't even notice that he said everything in one breath. He didn't even care if Rui understood what he said; he wasn't sure if the information he shared was true, anyway. In fact, he hoped that Rui didn't understand any of it.

Too bad for Tsukasa, though, Rui did heard, understood and analyzed what he just said.

"Tsukasa, you idiot, yes, I was sleeping just now. Yes, you did wake me up. That doesn't bother you at all, though, does it? Anyway, what do you even care if I sleep 14 or 15 hours a day? It's not like I sleep in your room or something…"

"What the hell! Why would you sleep in my room?! That's sick!" Tsukasa retorted.

"You don't get the point!" Rui shouted exasperatedly. If there was any person who could effectively wake Hanazawa Rui up from his sweet slumber, it is certainly Doumyouji Tsukasa. Tsukasa's stupidity at least. "Anyway, I've had enough of your stupid information about heath tips. You once said that because of eating grated apples, the chances of me getting bald is high… How stupid of me to believe that! Biology 101,my dear friend: patterned baldness is genetic, you idiot! Weren't you even listening to Biology classes?"

"Well, of course not, Mr. Know-It-All! What's the point? I'll graduate, anyway. I own the school, remember?" Tsukasa just rolled his eyes. 'diligent Rui, as always…' he thought.

"Your simple-mindedness never ceases to amaze me," Rui muttered softly to himself while slowly shaking his head in awe.

"What? What are you muttering about, huh?" Tsukasa put on a face that reflects suspicion. This was completely pointless though since Rui didn't see even Tsukasa's mere shadow.

"Nothing…"

"Oh, come on, Rui. Spill it out… or maybe you weren't sleeping before I called you. Maybe you were talking with Shizuka and you were disgruntled when I called you up, huh? Or maybe…"

" 'Maybe… maybe…' Don't you know any other word?! Why did you call me up anyway? Hurry up and get to the point already!" Rui was more than eager to cut their pointless drawn-out conversation. He felt that his brain cells were being taken away from him every minute he talks with the idiot named Tsukasa.

"Suddenly switching to defensive mode, eh? There's no doubt you were talking with Shi-"

"I'll hang this up now!" Rui threatened the playful Tsukasa.

"Ok! Ok! Calm down, will you? Anyway, I just feel so lonely here. Soujiro and Akira both have dates, you know? I have no one to talk to at all. And then I thought-"

"And then you thought about calling me even though you knew I was already asleep." Rui finished the sentence for him.

"Heh. I was just thinking maybe you could-"

"I am not going there to keep you company no matter how you beg for it, just so you know."

"Why don't you let me finish what I am going to say?"

"What's the point? I know you well enough to know what thoughtless thing you would blurt out next."

"Just for a while, maybe you could-"

"I repeat: I am not going there to keep you company no matter how you beg for it, ok?"

"Good!"

"Eh?" Rui was taken aback by Tsukasa's response.

"The three of us will just come over your place then! Bye!" Tsukasa displayed his signature smirk once again after coming up with the brilliant idea of visiting Rui instead of hanging out with uninteresting girls.

"What the-?! Tsukasa!!"

Rui stared at his phone for a whole minute.

'That idiot hang up on me.' He angrily thought.

Meanwhile, back at the club were the F3 were…

"Bad news! Big news!" Tsukasa ran back from the rooftop to the VIP lounge where Soujiro and Akira were.

"What is it?!" the two heatedly asked Tsukasa since he disturbed them from the pleasure of the company of the girls in their arms.

Tsukasa was seriously out of breath after his sprint form the rooftop to where he was then. It took quite a while for him to stabilize his breathing andt he forgot what he was supposed to tell the two.

"Doumyouji Tsukasa, you are just jealous that we have dates and you have none…" Soujiro teased.

"Huh?!"

"You were trying to come up with brilliant plans to disturb us and our dates, eh? That's why you were gone for quite some time. Or maybe you were at the bar drinking, trying to drown your sorrow for not being handsome enough to get yourself a hot date?" Akira taunted more.

"Excuse me! I can acquire more dates than you two can together; I just don't want to!"

"Yeah, right…" the two playboys chorused and got their attention off Tsukasa. Tsukasa suddenly realized that he didn't fulfill the purpose of running all the way from where he came from.

"Omaera! Listen, I just got a call from the Hanazawa residence. Something bad happened to Rui! We need to go there immediately!" Tsukasa yelled at the two.

"Nani?!"

"Why the hell didn't you say so right away?!"

As Tsukasa expected, Soujiro and Akira responded perfectly according to his plans. He inwardly grinned at his impromptu plan that just might lead him to victory.

It took them barely ten minutes to reach their destination, Rui's house, or mansion for that matter. This was made possible by Soujiro's exceptional driving prowess. It was evident that his rashness with women rubbed off on his skills with the steering wheel. Perhaps, it was the other way around. Either way, they reached the house without realizing it. Everything was because of Tsukasa's sly plan, even though it was just a mere fluke.

The three got off the car and barged into the Hanazawa residence. Being friends with Rui for more than half their lives, they already knew the obstacle course leading to Rui's unbelievably furniture-lacking room.

Soujiro and Akira ran relentlessly, wanting to know what happened to their friend. Tsukasa followed suit, unenthusiastic to find out the reaction of the two playboys when they learn that they were hopelessly fooled.

Meanwhile, Rui was absent-mindedly stroking his favorite white teddy bear. His mind was directed to other things. He thought of his family.

Hanazawa Rui was an only child. His father passed away when he was three due to a terrible car accident. At that time, he and his mother left their house and moved in with his maternal grandparents who took them in. They took care of him while his mother was away in France, venturing in business affairs. Rui had just visited his mother in France a year before. She was still the same caring and loving mother that he used to know. She firmly refused to return to Japan, though. Even her son Rui didn't know the reason behind this.

Rui grew up without the warmth of parents by his side. Sure, he was financially backed up by his grandparents and his mother, but he still didn't feel their concern. Heck, he didn't even feel their presence.

It surely was a blessing in disguise for Rui to have met three such awesome (awesome? uhm... er...) friends to bring him out of his shell and accept him for who he was. In spite of their stupidity and foolishness, he trusted and loved all three of them.

Rui was still stroking his teddy bear with a preoccupied state of mind as the F3 barged through his house. Rui had this huge teddy bear since he was young. His mother gave it to him before she left for France when he was three years old. She didn't return since then. The teddy bear was the only thing that kept Rui company when he was alone in his room. It had been a routine for Rui to hug his stuffed toy after experiencing his usual nightmares.

It took quite some time before it registered to Rui's brain that there was loud tapping (or pounding, rather) at his door. It was a miracle the door wasn't broken down by the net force applied by his friends.

Rui instinctively hugged his teddy bear tightly. This was his survival attack against nightmares. (He thought he was having a nightmare due to intense daydreaming minutes before.)

"RUI!!"

That, more than anything else brought Rui back to reality. It was funny how a single voice can shatter a guy's made up world. Well, not exactly a single voice, but three voices. Tsukasa joined in the shout so as not to look suspicious, knowing that Rui was in no sort of danger at all.

However, the moment of truth for the three trespassers was nearing as Rui motioned towards the door.

As the intricately-crafted rosewood door was opened, Akira and Soujiro started their tirade.

"Rui!"

"Rui, daijoubu ka?!"

"Tsukasa said something bad happened to you!"

"We rushed over here, you know?!"

"In a manner of speaking…" Tsukasa butted in.

"Eh?"

"What are you talking about now, Tsukasa?"

"You are always _'rush'_ Soujiro, in women, in driving. It makes me sick!"

"Baka…" Soujiro and Akira chorused.

Akira was suddenly getting into school-teacher mode. "English 101… _'rash'_ is different from _'rush'_. Got it? Do you understand, Tsukasa-kun?" Akira used a teacher-ish high pitched voice for his speech while pointing his index finger inches from Tsukasa's nose.

"That's what I meant!" Tsukasa shooed Akira with a wave of his hand.

"Anyway, Rui, say something, will you?!" Soujiro wanted to get the topic off his playboy and driving skills. 'I am not rash… At least, I don't think so…' he thought. Anyway, he was already tired of Tsukasa's stupidity and he wanted to know what happened to Rui. Therefore, it was like hitting three birds with one stone. Perfect, huh?

Rui, however, did not say anything at all. Instead, he raised his eyebrows at Soujiro and Akira. Then he glared at Tsukasa. No words were needed to be said. Everyone understood the situation they were in.

Just as Tsukasa was about to get some serious strangling from Soujiro and Akira for ruining their dates, a knock came from the slightly-open door. Perfect timing. For Tsukasa, anyway.

"Young Master Rui, would you and your friends like anything to drink?" Sanada-san, the Hanazawa butler, had always been the one taking care of Rui since he was taken in by his grandparents.

"Yes, the usual please." It was Tsukasa who spoke.

Sanada-san, unsure of what to do, looked at Rui for confirmation. Rui merely nodded. Right on cue, the butler left.

"What the hell, Tsukasa?"

"You don't own this place…"

"Well, since Rui doesn't seem to be in the mood to talk, I did him some huge favor in dealing with the butler." Tsukasa reasoned out to the two and defended his action. Tsukasa winked at Rui but it was utterly hopeless to try to communicate with the lost-in-another-world guy.

"Rui, are you still with us?!"

"Rui, we would be honored to hear even just a single syllable coming from you…"

No response.

"RUI!!" The three shook Rui to bring him back to reality. Rui looked at his friends, concern painted in their eyes.

"Uh… Gomen… I guess, I just miss my mother too much…" Rui admitted softly.

"Why don't you go and visit her in France? You might be able to see Shizuka there too…" Akira suggested.

"I can't. She doesn't want me to go there. I would just be a disturbance, like I was the last time I went there." Rui bitterly stated. His friends could tell the pain he was undergoing. Rui noticed and appreciated the concern of his friends.

"Ahh… Gomen! What's the point of being gloomy anyway? Haha…" Rui laughed humorlessly just to drive away the tense atmosphere. Just then, a knock came again.

"Young Master, your drinks…"

'Perfect timing, Sanada-san,' Rui thought. 'I need to give this guy a pay raise.' But then, Rui remembered that he wasn't the one who pay for the salaries of the people in the Hanazawa household. Oh well.

The F4 gladly indulged in their drinks, thankful for a reason to ease the tension.

Just as Sanada-san was about to leave them, he remembered something.

"Young Master, a letter just came for you. It was-"

Rui didn't let Sanada-san continue the sentence any further. He immediately grabbed the letter and searched for the sender's name.

'Lucky!!' he thought.

"Guys, enjoy your drinks… I'll just… go…" Rui bade them goodbye. It all happened too fast. The three were caught unaware. They just stared at the doorway devoid of Rui.

"What just happened there?" Akira blinked.

"What was that all about?" Soujiro asked nonchalantly.

"Oh come on, you idiots… A letter… Rui running off to read it somewhere… What else could that be?" Tsukasa blurted out. He shot his eyebrows up and down, signifying that he was hinting on something and implying that if Soujiro and Akira didn't understand it, they were idiots.

"What do you infer, Mr. Genius?"

"Just say so already!" Soujiro was nearing his limit. Tsukasa's stupid antics really got into his nerves.

"It's just that, perhaps, it was a love letter…" Tsukasa stated.

"From?" Akira asked.

Pause.

"Shizuka…" Soujiro stated the obvious.

The three continued to savor their drinks without the host present.

Meanwhile, Rui ran off to his favorite room in the whole mansion. One's bedroom was not necessarily one's favorite room. It might even be possible that several bitter moments that were better off forgotten happen there. Lucky for Rui, in a figuratively empty house, he found a room that he could treasure. He found a room that he could feel solace in. He found a sanctuary.

He discovered the room when he was three. When his mother told him that she was leaving for France and that Rui was supposed to live in that mansion, he ran off knowing nothing about the floor plan of the mansion which was as good as an obstacle course at that time. He wandered off and reached a varnished door. Shapes of roses with intricate details and of various sizes were carefully carved on the door. It was utterly breathtaking. Rui couldn't help but let his hands travel along the door, feeling wonder that such a work of art existed.

He entered the room, eager to find out what more that door could offer. It was relatively small compared to the usual sizes of rooms in a mansion. What caught Rui's eye however was the floor-length window at the end of the room. He was awed, not by the window but by the sight seen through the window. The adjective amazing could be an understatement.

It was exceptional.

It was incredible.

Rui saw the sun setting behind the tall buildings of Tokyo, its radiance illuminating the city for a few more minutes before night, its rays beautifully diffracting through the structures and reaching Rui's eyes. Moreover, the windows were open so the light breeze fanned his cheeks and brought him a feeling of serenity. He couldn't forget that moment.

At the present, Rui made his way to that room for the sole purpose of reading his letter there. He carefully opened it as if it was a delicate treasure. It was more like a note than a letter, though.

Only two sentences were present.

"Eh?" was Rui's only reaction.

...to be continued...

What could the letter be about? Who was it from? Read and review please.

Please don't get me wrong. It may seem that Rui is the main character here. Rui is A main character, but not THE main character. Got it? It is just the beginning of the story anyway. More characters will appear soon.

Please look forward to more chapters. I, on the other hand, will look forward to more reviews...

Any comments are highly appreciated and welcome...

Arigatou yo!


	3. Chapter 2 Goodbye Rui, Hello Eitoku

As Rui read the letter in his hands, he noticed that only two sentences were present

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing except the plot...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

** Twists of Fate **

_Chapter Two - Goodbye Rui, Hello Eitoku_

_by: chocopeanutplease _

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As Rui read the letter in his hands, he noticed that only two sentences were present.

"Eh?" was Rui's only reaction.

He read the letter thrice in quick succession before it had sunk in him. He had to rub his eyes and focus them properly to make sure that he read it right, that he wasn't imagining things.

It said:

_Rui,_

_Come to France as soon as possible. I need to discuss something with you._

_Kaa-chan_

Rui stared at the letter with disbelief. Still, it was undeniable that it came from his mother. He just couldn't forget her sophisticated script. The number of notes he received from her since he was young, even when she was already in France, was totally uncountable.

It was actually weird for his mother to send him a letter, or a note for that matter, rather than just calling him up or sending him an e-mail. The other alternatives were more practical and efficient. They were what people would normally do to communicate to people in a different country. Letter sending was just so… ancient… so past tense.

Rui was amazed and snorted at his mother's old-fashioned style. Still, he was delighted to receive the letter. And she was asking him to go to France to discuss something with her! How great is that?!

However, a twinge of disappointment came over him. The letter seemed so… empty… so devoid of emotion. Yes, it was written by his mother herself. An effort was evident in that. Rui still felt empty, though. His mother didn't even ask how he was doing. She didn't even mention how she was doing there. The letter had no motherly feel in it. It seemed more like a business letter or something of that sort.

"Oh well…" Rui breathed as he exhaled.

"I guess I have to pack," Rui said to nobody in particular. He didn't know how many clothes to pack, though. He had no idea how long he would be staying in France, thanks to his mother's inadequate message.

"As soon as possible, huh? I guess I'll pack tonight and then leave tomorrow. That's soon enough. Oh, yes! Plane ticket. I need plane ticket. I guess Sanada-san can take care of that. What else? Hmmm…" Rui trailed off voicing his plans in an almost inaudible whisper that even a person a feet away from him couldn't understand. That was the unique thing about Rui; he seemed to be more talkative with himself than with others.

"Maa, I guess I'll have to tell the guys that I'd be leaving…" he reluctantly left the room after waiting for twilight to come. It was his favorite time of the day: sunset to twilight. He couldn't resist the opportunity of witnessing it before leaving for France. Perhaps the twilight in France was different from the twilight in Tokyo.

He began his journey to his room unwillingly, letting his feet lead the way. He was preoccupied then.

'I need to discuss something with you,' Rui thought about what his mother wrote. What could that something be? He was utterly bewildered at the cryptic message.

'Maybe she wanted me to come and live with her there and study there… Maybe she wanted to come back to Japan and she needs me to help her get ready… Maybe she wanted Shizuka and me to be engaged or something since Shizuka is currently in France studying International Law… Or maybe…" He trailed off with his speculations as he reached the door to his room. He knew that the only way to find out is to leave for France as soon as possible.

He entered the room and found the three still drinking their hearts out.

"Yo!" Rui greeted them nonchalantly.

"So…" Soujiro started.

"So… what?" Rui asked, confused, as he glanced at the ridiculous faces of his three friends. He felt that they were expecting some sort of explanation from him, and he had absolutely no idea what it was.

"The letter…" Tsukasa hinted.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I need to pack. I will fly to France tomorrow…" Rui stated as he motioned toward his walk-in closet. It was actually outside his room but there was a connecting door. He went to gather his clothes and stuff. When the three were out of Rui's range of hearing capability, they proceeded with their conversation.

"Fly…" Akira started.

"…to France," Soujiro continued.

"Ha! See? I told you it was a love letter from Shizuka! She surely misses him and all that mushy stuff… Haha… Maybe they will talk about their plans for engagement or something…" Tsukasa said, cocky that his bizarre idea actually explained the situation.

"I see…" Akira said as he nodded as realization seemed to dawn on him.

"You may be right…" Soujiro said considering Tsukasa's supposition.

"_I may be right_, you say? Well, of course I'm right! I've never been wrong in my entire life!" Tsukasa declared with hand gestures that signify that what he declared should have been obvious to them already, that they were idiots for not knowing it.

Soujiro rolled his eyes and Akira shook his head, both in a _whatever-you-say-Doumyouji-Tsukasa-sama _sort of way.

Rui reentered the room carrying clothing and footwear good for three days.

'I could just buy some stuff there if I would have to stay longer…' he thought.

As he returned to the room, the three shot huge smiles at him, as if they heard big news about him and they wanted to congratulate him. And that's exactly what they did – congratulate him.

"Omedetou, Rui!" they chorused, with bright, genuine smiles plastered on their face.

"Eh?" was all Rui could come up with. He was hopelessly confused of why they were congratulating him.

"You're getting engaged with Shizuka, huh…" Soujiro patted Rui's shoulder as he said it signifying his appreciation. It was not a question. It was a wondering statement.

"So you're going to France to officially get engaged… How nice…" Akira's was also a statement. It was also not a question.

Rui was devastated and surprised at what Soujiro and Akira said. What bothered him most was that they seemed so sure that he was going to France to get engaged to Shizuka.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" he demanded an answer from the two and eyed Tsukasa suspiciously.

"Aww… come on, Rui. You are going to France to get engaged to Shizuka, right? She sent you a love letter asking you to go there. How nice… You don't have to hide it from us, you know? We won't take her away from you. You have nothing to worry about. We support you all the way. So you-" Tsukasa said continuously leaving no room for Rui to butt in and negate what Tsukasa just said.

It was a truth generally acknowledged that Hanazawa Rui was naturally a composed person. He could easily sort out his emotions and act prudently in doing so. He could find the perfect answers to every situation he was faced with.

Needless to say, his personality was perfect for dealing with his idiotic and gullible friends.

"I am going to France tomorrow because my mother asked me to. She said that we need to discuss something. The letter was from her. And I am NOT going to get engaged with Shizuka." Rui explained everything slowly and clearly to the three of them using simple words and simple sentences.

Tsukasa, though, drunk as he was, wouldn't let the matter drop.

"Whatever you say, Rui…" Tsukasa held his hands up as if in surrender. It was blatant that he didn't even consider a single word of explanation that came from Rui.

"I guess we should leave now," Akira started.

"Yeah, you still need to pack, don't you?" Soujiro said.

"How long will you stay there?" Akira asked, concerned, evident that he would miss Rui much.

"Honestly, I have no idea. Don't worry. I can take care of myself." Rui stated to his friends, taking into account that they were concerned about him.

"Yeah, of course we won't worry. You have Shizuka to take care of you, anyway." Tsukasa wouldn't let the teasing drop. He actually still believed that Rui was going to get engaged with Shizuka. Akira and Soujiro already believed that Rui was asked to go to France by his mother, but Tsukasa was one heck of a stubborn idiot to believe that.

"But it's the first day of school tomorrow…" Soujiro reasoned out to make Rui stay.

"Heh… When has school stopped us from doing what we need to do?" Rui replied with a smirk on his lips. "Which reminds me… Promise me something." Rui looked at each of them with a dead serious face. He used his finger to point at Soujiro, then at Akira, then at Tsukasa.

"Fine…" they replied.

"Don't see me off tomorrow. Go to school. Attend class!" Rui continued, his crooked smile revealing a sight of his white teeth.

"EHH?!" was all that could be heard after Rui's words.

"Why?!"

"What the hell for?!"

"Oh, nothing. I just felt the need of torturing you before I go to France. Just a little token for you before I leave. Heh." Rui's mood was lightened after saying those sadistic words to his friends and making them promise to do so. Rui noticed the similar expression on their faces.

"Aww.. What's with the sulking face? Be thankful I'm concerned about the state of your mental capacity. Otherwise, you'll end up being like Tsukasa here." Rui said pointing at Tsukasa and slyly winking at him.

"What is that supposed to mean, huh?!" Tsukasa charged at Rui, demanding an answer from him about the obvious, while clutching the collar of Rui's shirt.

Rui felt being silly since it was the last time he would be seeing those guys before he would leave for France. He was not sure how his trip to France would fare. He wasn't sure how long he would be parted from those three. All he knew for sure was that he would miss them and their craziness.

For the last time, he felt the need to be crazy.

Rui deliberately stuck out his tongue at Tsukasa while the latter was clutching his upper clothing. It was the sort of thing that children do when they got the better of someone, though it was just too ridiculous to be done at the moment when they were already seventeen years old.

Akira and Soujiro laughed at Rui's childish antics. They used to do that to Rui back when they were still kids. It was sort of nostalgic.

Tsukasa was taken aback by Rui's tongue sticking feat that he too couldn't suppress a wave of laughter.

Rui merely smiled at the three of them, knowing deep down that they would miss each other truly.

As the hilarity subsided, they decided to call it a night. They all said their goodbyes and stuff like that.

Each of the three hugged Rui to reassure him that he had always had three such amazing friends who would be concerned about him and would fly to France to help him out whenever the need arose.

"See you…"

"Take care…"

"Keep in touch…"

They motioned toward the door in the act of leaving.

"Hey!" Rui called out to them.

"Nani?" they called out, peeping from the door frame into Rui's room.

"_Be sure to keep your promise_!" Rui shouted with a serious face but with eyes signifying humor.

"That's sick!!" Soujiro whispered the thoughts of the three of them as they rolled their eyes at Rui's ridiculously crazy ideas.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It has already been a year since Rui left for France. It has already been a year since the three attended their classes that first day to fulfill their promise.

'_A man never turns back from his words'_ was what Tsukasa said at that time so they decided to keep their promise.

It has already been a year indeed but Rui still hadn't returned. They kept in touch, of course. Still, it didn't change the fact that Rui wasn't present with them, laughing with them, sharing his silence.

It was now the start of another school year for them at Eitoku, their second, but not just for them, though.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Shigeru, Sakurako, Yuki and Tsukushi were also about to dive into the unknown that their second year of Eitoku was to offer.

Tsukushi actually spent her first year at Tokyo High.

Every year, Eitoku granted a scholarship for any student who excelled in academics, art or athletics. This year it was given to Makino Tsukushi after a representative from Eitoku witnessed her exhibit at Tokyo High and after further recommendation from her former high school.

"You definitely have to accept that scholarship! I heard that there are a lot of rich guys studying at that Eitoku school. You can make your big catch there and bring us out of poverty…" Tsukushi's mother urged her and pestered her each day after receiving the news.

"Mama! Of course I will accept the scholarship, but not for the fact that there are several rich guys there…"Tsukushi replied, irritated.

"Eh? Why would you accept the scholarship then?" her mother queried. 'What other reason could she have' her mother wondered, which was clearly her narrow-minded thinking.

"Oh, I don't know… Perhaps it's the fact that it's a scholarship! Be thankful you won't pay for my tuition." Tsukushi didn't mind concealing the sarcasm in her tone and words due to her immense annoyance. Her mother had already been pestering her for a whole fortnight.

"Besides, my best friend, Yuki, is currently studying there and in the same year as me. She'll help me find my way around," Tsukushi continued reasoning out to her unreasonable mother.

"You have grown to be wise, Tsukushi," her father commented. She smiled appreciatively at her father.

"Onee-chan is so cool! I'll also work hard to earn a scholarship!" Susumu chimed in and actually meant what he said.

Tsukushi smiled lovingly at her whole family. Even though they had crazy ideas about sudden richness, she still loved them deeply. She would do almost anything to support her family.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As Tsukushi walked into Eitoku High School for her first day of school, she was completely taken by awe. Indeed, she had already been there when she enrolled but the sight was just too amazing to not be gawked for even the second time. A year would probably not be enough to make her be used to wonders the place can build up on her.

There were several tall buildings reaching at least three floors high. There was a huge field for the physical development of the students. The school was so in touch with nature with its towering trees and well-trimmed grasses and shrubs. Tsukushi observed all these just as she was entering the gate.

'I wonder what other wonders this school possesses,' she thought as she sighed at her surroundings.

"Oh! Look! It's Tsukushi!" Yuki excitedly muttered to Shigeru and Sakurako as she pointed at the awestruck Tsukushi. They were at the entrance of the main building of the school. Yuki brought Shigeru and Sakurako with her to introduce them to Tsukushi.

"Tsukushi!" Yuki was wildly waving her hands for Tsukushi to notice as she edged toward her.

"Oh, Yuki!" she said as she noticed her friend who was trying to break the her preoccupation and catch her attention in doing so. The old best friends hugged each other comically.

"Tsukushi, this is Shigeru and this is Sakurako," Yuki pointed at each of them and introduced them each to make them acquainted with each other.

"So, Tsukushi-chan, you came here on an Art scholarship?" Sakurako curiously asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Tsukushi cheerfully replied, glad that she was starting to make new friends at a new school.

"Sugooooi! You must do really great masterpieces then! You're amazing, Tsukushi-chan. I've never actually heard of Art scholars before…" Shigeru praised Tsukushi while wondering to herself.

"Heh… I'm not that great. I just happen to be lucky, I guess." Tsukushi humbly offered.

The bell suddenly rang while they were in the middle of their chatting.

"What class are you in?" Sakurako kept on with her interrogation of Tsukushi.

"Hmm… 2-C…"

"Really?! We're all in the same class then…" Shigeru smiled brightly at Tsukushi once again, her energy never diminishing at such a nice day.

"Hurry! Or we are going to be late for Geometry on our first day of school!" Yuki yelled back at them as she led the way.

'That Yuki, studious as usual,' Tsukushi thought as she tried to catch up with the other girls, exerting her energy right at the start of the day.

'Chotto! Did she just say Geometry?! What an extremely nice way to start a day, then,' Tsukushi thought, her sarcasm starting to kick in. She didn't actually hate Mathematics. She despised it! Everything related to it. She felt sick just thinking about it. She only made it through junior high Mathematics due to Yuki's constant guidance.

The day passed uneventfully as to be expected of every first day of class. It was mainly introduction of teachers and students and the course syllabus. The students would just be damned if the lessons already started with their mind still on vacation mode.

As they were dismissed for the day with no more classes to worry about, they proceeded with their chattering.

"You're probably joining the Art Club aren't you?" Sakurako asked Tsukushi inquisitively.

"Yeah, I guess so. It is the reason I got in here anyway…" Tsukushi replied while thinking if the people in Eitoku would appreciate her artistic style at all.

"You make it sound like it's just an obligation," Sakurako noticed in Tsukushi's tone of voice.

"Oh no, no! Please don't get me wrong. I really do love art. I am just worried that I am-" Tsukushi was cut short by the amazement at what she observed. She didn't reach her limit yet for her dose of amazement for that day.

The Gymnastics Club door was opened. Tsukushi happened to glance and she then watched with admiration and frustration both evident in her eyes noticeable to Yuki.

Tsukushi had always been dazzled by gymnasts and ballet dancers for their incredible grace and poise every time they moved their body. She even wanted to take up ballet classes when she was young but their budget couldn't sustain it. She just vented her frustration to a much cheaper alternative, art, particularly painting. She discovered that she had talent in this field. She even got to sell some of her masterpieces to add to their family budget.

In fact, Tsukushi had another frustration besides gymnastics and ballet.

Tsukushi stopped in mid-sentence to appreciate the girls that were training.

"Let's go, Tsukushi-chan! The Art Club room is just around the corner over there," Shigeru said as she waved a hand for Tsukushi and Yuki to come to Sakurako and her.

"Let's go, Tsukushi… Don't go looking so frustrated... Be thankful you have an artistic talent." Yuki encourage her down-hearted friend.

"Yuki," Tsukushi warmly called out to her best friend, appreciating her understanding.

"Club activities are held every day after dismissal. It is an option to come or not, but officers are required to be there every day. I believe that there is currently an art exhibit in the Art club." Yuki spoke so enthusiastically, being a member of the Art club herself, along with Shigeru and Sakurako.

"Really?! Oh, I'd like to go see!" Tsukushi hurried over to catch up to Shigeru and Sakurako while dragging Yuki with her.

The four girls entered the Art club hall. It was brightly lit with spotlights to accentuate the masterpieces of previous Art club members. There were paintings, sketches, photographs and sculptures. Those that were exhibited were indeed spectacular. Tsukushi proceeded directly to the section allotted for paintings and examined each carefully, as if imagining the artist in his/her act of adding and mixing the colors to produce a brilliant effect.

She was too absorbed that she didn't notice that almost all of the girls were flocking towards the terrace of the hall. Eitoku, being a rich school and all, had terraces at each club hall, probably a place for club members to take a breather or something. The club halls were at the second floor and were situated in such a way that the terraces were facing the entrance of the school. Therefore, people at the terrace could have a 20/20 vision of any person or any vehicle that entered the school grounds.

"KYAAA!! The F4! It's the F4!!" All of the girls at the Art club hall except Tsukushi were at the terrace ogling at the dazzling and handsome group.

Absorbed in her own thoughts, Tsukushi was oblivious that she was the only girl left in the hall. She was busy staring at the black-and-white photographed portrait of a woman who was around her twenties. She was stark-naked with her shorter-than-shoulder-length hair sprawled across her face but still revealing her features and her smile. Her smile was what held Tsukushi's gaze, her smile that seemed worry-free and completely trusting. It was entitled '_Goddess_'.

"Nice title. Suits her," Tsukushi whispered to herself as she was busy ogling at that carefree smile while the other girls were busily ogling a certain group of guys.

"Tsukushi!" Yuki called out to her. Shigeru, however, headed toward Tsukushi, clutching her arm securely to take her to the terrace.

"Come with me and be introduced to the F4!" Shigeru happily told Tsukushi as she yanked her away from the photograph that Shigeru considered repulsive.

'Eh? F4…? Who the hell?' Tsukushi wondered confusedly as she let Shigeru drag her to wherever.

...to be continued...

So, how did you find the story? Read and review please.

Do you think it is too slow-paced? No major development in the plot? It is just the beginning of the story anyway. More characters will appear soon.

More action will come soon… Please look forward to it.

Lately, laziness has attacked me very badly. I just laze around watching TV, eating… Actually, I am currently reading the manga HanaKimi, but I forgot to download volume 14 so I wouldn't proceed until I get a copy of that.

That photograph the 'goddess' actually came from HK, so I say now:

I do not own HanaKimi! I hope, though. The Japanese live action was my favorite comedy series ever. Ever! Nakatsu is just so cute! With his monologs and all. I love it very much! I recommend that you watch it. The Taiwanese version is a bit weird, though. The Taiwanese 'Mizuki' looks too much like a guy; it's creepy.

While I was editing this, I watched Boys Love in crunchyroll. It was extremely disturbing. Extremely. Disturbing. The plot was nice though. The ending was a bit stupid, though. Yeah, it was dramatic but it was irrational. Oh well. The quotes were nice. I recommend you watch to understand what I mean. And be disturbed in the process.

Anyway, I hope I could get over my laziness soon.

To those who reviewed, thank you very much! Love you!

To **anime07, addieXmitsume** and **lhotshot83**, I am so happy that you like my story! I will try my best to update as regularly as possible… just go ahead and guess what will happen…

Any comments are highly appreciated and welcome...

Arigatou yo!


	4. Chapter 3 Inevitable Encounter

'Eh

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and a few extra characters…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

** Twists of Fate **

_Chapter Three – The Inevitable Encounter_

_by: chocopeanutplease _

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

'Eh? F4…? Who the hell?' Tsukushi wondered confusedly as she let Shigeru drag her to wherever.

Shigeru yanked the reluctant Tsukushi to the terrace without even noticing Tsukushi's futile attempts to break free. Shigeru's hawk-like grasp of her wrist just wouldn't permit that.

As they reached the terrace, Shigeru had to push and jab several girls to lead Tsukushi and let her view of the guys. Still, being far away, Tsukushi couldn't quite recognize their faces vividly, not that she minded.

"F4, you say? Apparently, they are only three. What's with that? Or does F4 have some other meaning?" Tsukushi turned to Sakurako who was closest at the moment to clarify her thoughts.

"Haha… Silly… One is in France at the moment, Hanazawa Rui. Those three are Nishikado Soujiro… Mimasaka Akira… and Doumyouji Tsukasa," Sakurako explained, mentioning the last name with more fondness than necessary.

Tsukushi barely heard the names she mentioned because of the shrilling tunes reverberating through her ears. Cries of 'F4! F4! F4!' were heard from girls up to at least a three meter radius with Tsukushi as center. Tsukushi rolled her eyes at their simple-mindedness. All those trouble for just a bunch of guys! It was too much for a quiet-loving person to handle.

Tsukushi motioned back to the hall. In fact, she wanted to head anywhere with considerable peace and quiet as compared to the circus-like event she had just witnessed seconds ago.

Meanwhile, the F4, three of them to be precise, maintained their reputation to be the cause of ruckus and havoc, at least in the case of the girls fawning over them. As they were heading to the building where Tsukushi was in, Doumyouji Tsukasa gracefully turned his head to face one of the terraces: the one next to the Art Club terrace, in fact.

"KYAAA!!"

"Doumyouji-sama is looking at us!"

"Oh no! What if he asks me on a date? What should I do?!"

"What if he will ask me to marry him? What should I reply?"

The girls in the Art Club terrace were screaming and waving at Tsukasa, practically fantasizing of him. It was a miracle their vocal cords didn't snap with too much pressure in screaming. They were in total delirium. They were out of their right minds due to the pheromones radiating from the man named Doumyouji Tsukasa.

Tsukushi stared in disbelief at them, mouth gaping wide. She could hear those words of wishful thinking coming from those girls, and she couldn't help but be stunned in place by the sentences let out by Tsukasa's admirers.

'I can't believe I belong to the same species as those girls…' Tsukushi thought as she gained back her senses.

Nothing could stop those girls in their state of fantasy and shove into them the fact that Doumyouji Tsukasa was in no way looking at them.

He was looking at something else.

He was looking at someone else.

Amane Mizuki was stretching her muscles to start practicing with her routine. Of course she could hear the shouts coming from the Art Club terrace. It was right next to theirs after all. What's more, she was situated right beside the Gymnastics Club terrace. She didn't quite know the reason why her sensei decided to put her there, at the back of the class. Perhaps she already did her routine very well that she didn't need constant guidance from the teacher.

She already got used to the frequent noise during club activities after spending a year at Eitoku. The noise didn't faze her at all. It only made her more focused. That's the type of girl she was. She was determined to pursue her dreams in gymnastics. Distractions just tend to strengthen her will.

She was aware of the chants of 'Doumyouji-sama! Doumyouji-sama' coming from the neighboring terrace. She was also totally aware of the routine she was tasked to perform that day. However, she wasn't aware that a pair of eyes was surveying her from outside the building they were in.

Amane Mizuki was entirely oblivious of the fact that Doumyouji Tsukasa was intently gazing at her elegant form.

Meanwhile, Tsukushi paced back to the Art gallery after accepting the obvious: those girls were unstoppable.

"I can't believe those girls! They're delusional! What's to be admired with those guys, anyway? They don't appear to be anything great to me!" Tsukushi whispered as she was blindly strolling around without even glancing at the artistic works surrounding her. She was softly ranting to herself as she walked without paying attention to anything at all. Little did she know that someone was actually paying a huge deal amount of attention at her.

"You are the first one to possess that kind of opinion, Tsukushi-san," a towering young man stated matter-of-factly. "Although taking into consideration that it's your first day in this school, that is quite forgivable." The young man sweetly smiled at Tsukushi's confused look.

"Every girl in this school admires them. Even the teachers do. The truth is, they somewhat own the school already, what with the donations the school has been accepting from their families." He explained further until Tsukushi got over her confused expression.

The young man was adequately surprised by what Tsukushi did next. She laughed so hard that her eyes involuntarily closed as tears of mirth escaped from them. She was almost out of breath the moment she stopped and clutched her chest to support her breathing and calm herself.

"Are you nuts? What is so laughable about what I said?" the young man demanded, his eyes tinted with a mixture of annoyance and amusement.

"Haha… For a while there I thought you were referring to the delusion of the girls being normal here. I would think you, yourself, are delusional as well… I have just realized that you were actually referring to the F4…" Tsukushi threw a glance at the young man before her.

He was a towering presence, like an athlete, with well-toned muscles but still slim in body figure. His hair was cut cleanly falling right above his eyes, not blocking them from view.

"For a while there I thought you had an intake of laughing gas or something. It was not even hilarious," He spoke with his arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed as Tsukushi intently surveyed his features.

"And do you?" Tsukushi innocently asked.

"Do I what?" the young man asked, irritated at the interrogation.

"Do you admire them?" she asked.

"Well, I have to admit, they're rather good-looking…" the young man replied. At that, Tsukushi raised her eyebrows as her eyes widen a millimeter or two. "And I am not gay," He added, apparently noticing Tsukushi's expression.

"I see. Well, I think they're no good. They shouldn't be the one acknowledged and admired for what their parents did. Who cares if they as good as own the school? Their parents were the ones who donated, not them. If they had other parents they wouldn't be even like this. They shouldn't be the one receiving credit for what their parents have established. Furthermore, they shouldn't strut around like a bunch of idiots tolerating other people to contribute to noise pollution for their sake!" Tsukushi fumed as her thoughts escaped her mouth.

"Whoa… Whoa… I am sensing some hostility in here. Why do you hate them so much?" the young man asked, honestly curious. He couldn't understand why Tsukushi actually hated the F4 that badly.

"Eh?... I don't know…" her voice trailed off. And that was the truth. She didn't actually know. The words she said came out almost involuntarily. She pondered some more at her thoughts about the F4.

'Why do I seem to hate them? Because they're rich? No. That can't be it. Why did I say those words, anyway?!' Tsukushi thought as her eyes drifted to the direction of the young man.

"WHO ARE YOU, anyway?! And how did you know my name?!" she demanded rather rudely. Tsukushi noticed her tone and smiled apologetically at the young man.

"My name is Yukimura. I am the temporary Art club adviser and I am in third year. And I-"

"Third year?! You mean to say you are a student in Eitoku?" Tsukushi cut his sentence to blurt that out. She had just noticed then that the young man was actually wearing the Eitoku uniform.

"Obviously." He said tersely, lazily pointing at his uniform. He was beginning to be really amused and really annoyed at Tsukushi's dynamic character.

"So you are my sen-… sen-…" Tsuksuhi was at a loss whether to say senpai or sensei, which made the young man grin widely.

"And how did you know my name?" Tsukushi demanded once again, this time less rudely, just to change the topic of conversation and to escape from her confusion.

"I was just about to tell you before you cut in! I heard your friend call you Tsukushi, so I called you Tsukushi-san. That's it."

"So you were spying on me, weren't you? You even heard what I was whispering about!" Tsukushi accused him.

"Spying… Whatever! Call it as you wish…" he shrugged.

"Excuse me, but I prefer to be called Makino by someone I barely know," she said as she turned to look for Yuki, so they could go home.

"Makino-san! There will be an art workshop next week. You are most welcomed to attend!" he called out to her retreating form. She didn't turn to reply but he was sure she heard.

'Whatever! I just want to go home right now. Yuki, where on earth are you, anyway?!' she thought as she searched every nook and cranny for her friend.

'Makino Tsukushi… What an interesting character…' the young man named Yukimura thought while watching Tsukushi in her find-Yuki-immediately-so-we-could-head-home-immediately mission that was almost completed as she shortened the distance between Yuki and her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next days passed by as uneventful as the first. That was until the moment Tsukushi decided to attend the Art workshop where she was invited by the odd young man named Yukimura. And that moment only came right when they were in front of the Art club hall.

"Tsukushi, let's go! This will be fun!" Shigeru encouraged her as she practically dragged her from their classroom to the club hall.

"Come on, Tsukushi… We are eager to see your art works too," Sakurako grasped Tsukushi's shoulder, urging her to move on.

"Let me handle this," Yuki softly spoke to Shigeru and Sakurako while trying to free her best friend from the dictatorial captivity from the two. She gently held Tsukushi's arm and distanced themselves form the other two.

"What's wrong, Tsukushi? You don't feel well?" Yuki asked with concern evident in her tone of voice.

"Nothing, nothing! I'm fine, really…" Tsukushi hastily spoke, flailing her arms wildly.

Yuki warmly smiled at Tsukushi. She had a shrewd idea of what was disturbing her best friend.

"Tsukushi, you don't have to be worried that your art work would be rejected. You gained an Art scholarship, remember? You apparently have a talent within you! Have more faith in yourself, will you? And who cares if they reject it? Just do what you enjoy doing!" Yuki soothingly persuaded Tsukushi to believe in herself. Tsukushi totally appreciated Yuki's words of concern and then cracked a smile.

"Yoshi! Let's go then…" Tsukushi said, leading the way to the Art club hall. Shigeru and Sakurako followed suit, their expressions half-surprised at the sudden change in Tsukushi's behavior.

'Everything's all right… Everything's all right…' Tsukushi chanted as she was walking toward the hall. She tried to convince herself of that myth. She could only wish that saying it over and over again may make that myth become a reality. Unfortunately, the world is not that kind.

Actually, no. Everything is not all right. Not all right at all. Not even close.

Tsukushi had been having a serious self-esteem problem. Her greatest fear in life is rejection, far more than anything else. She didn't like people taking notice what a failure she was. She felt that every glance at her was equivalent to an awful opinion. She thought every advice directed to her was worth a dreadful criticism. It was total paranoia! She even refused to believe that she had any talent at all. Her self-confidence frequently hit an all-time low.

"People, people! Settle down now! Find a work station that suits you," the loud booming voice of the young man reverberated throughout the whole hall as the four girls made their way to the very back of the hall because those were only the stations left. It was Tsukushi's fault of course that they were late.

'Ehhh… It's that Yukimura guy again… Could this day get any worse? Can someone answer that? And to think it is just my second day in this school…' Tsukushi reflected as she settled down on her seat facing a large empty canvas.

It was an amazing thought that the canvas, once white and dull, could be transformed into something greater as every color was applied to the canvas to slowly add to its beauty.

"There is a bucket of water in front. Fill your cups with water to your heart's content to mix it with your paint. Don't worry. Everything is absolutely free of charge." Yukimura declared for the whole hall to hear. He then turned to where Tsukushi was and winked at her.

Tsukushi responded with a frown and furrowed eyebrows.

The people already took water from the bucket. Tsukushi permitted herself to be the last to get some. She was still trying to come up with ideas of what to paint. Nothing came. When it was her turn to get some water, though, not even a single drop of water could be taken form the bucket.

"Makino-san… Do you mind doing the honors of getting some water for yourself and for the others too?" Yukimura faked a sweet voice. It was more like a snarl.

Tsukushi glared at him and deliberately took the bucket from the table.

"Isn't it YOUR job as the adviser to make sure that all members acquire their needs?" Tsukushi asked in a terrifyingly soft voice.

"No." Yukimura replied tersely, which made Tsukushi roll her eyes in annoyance.

'What a cocky jerk!' Tsukushi irritably thought of her earlier encounter with the young man named Yukimura.

She passed by different classrooms and lockers as she paved her way. She headed to the female comfort room to fill the bucket with water up to the brim. As she carried the bucket with both her hands, drops of water kept splashing from it.

She passed by the Gymnastics Club hall while looking inside through the windows. Little did she know that more drops of water were splattering from the bucket as she paid no attention to it.

She was so immersed in observing the ladies doing their gymnastics routine. Sadly, there was a puddle of water right where she was about to step her foot (a puddle of water which she caused as a matter of fact). Then, being the clumsy girl as she was, she slipped while gripping the handle of the bucket tightly as if clinging onto dear life.

That could be considered as one of her biggest mistakes in life – the tight bucket gripping.

In one of those freak moments of physics, the water flowed like a fountain from the bucket to a location exactly two meters from the point where Tsukushi slipped.

Furthermore, a towering young man with a domineering aura was standing also exactly two meters away from Tsukushi as the event occurred.

The distance between the position where the young man stood and the position where the water hit was…

…unfortunately…

Z-E-R-O.

That's right.

It was as if the wings of fate directed the flowing water to land straight to the young man's upper piece of clothing.

It was now soaking wet. The left side of his expensive-looking white shirt was now soaking wet because of… well, you know what.

The young man was taken aback as he held his drenched clothes.

First was surprise.

Next was anger.

Last was outrage.

"What in the HELL do you think you're doing?!" the young man shot a deadly glare at Tsukushi who was still sitting on the ground, nursing her arms that were bruised from the fall.

"EH?!"

"What the hell did you do, stupid woman?!" the young man demanded, keeping the terrifying expression on his face. He didn't even bother to help Tsukushi get up from her awkward sitting position.

"AH!!" Tsukushi had just realized then the situation she was in. She immediately got up, using her knees as support instead of her bruised arms. It was an exhausting feat since her whole body was aching at different parts due to her clumsy fall.

"Sumimasen deshita!" Tsukushi apologized, bowing her head very low, as low as her sore body would allow.

"Yo!!" a pair of voices was heard close to Tsukushi and the young man. Tsukushi looked up in curiosity to see who the voices belonged to.

"What's with the wet look?" one of the guys asked inquisitively as the other howled into bouts of laughter.

"Urusai yo, Soujiro! And stop laughing, Akira! This is not funny at all…" scowled at the pair that Tsukushi supposed to be the young man's buddies.

'Sou ka… So their names are Soujiro and Akira… Still, who is this other guy?' Tsukushi wondered as the three guys were conversing.

"We thought we heard your lovely shouting voice that is pleasing to the ears from inside the hall," Soujiro informed the young man.

"So we decided to come by to inspect," Akira continued with a wink directed at the young man.

"Yeah. You suddenly disappeared from the hall when we were talking with Mizuki. Weren't you the one who asked us to accompany you to come and see her? You just left her like that. What's that all about?" Soujiro asked the young man, with his arm leaning on the young man's shoulder.

"Anyway, that's not the problem here! In case you haven't noticed- " the young man started, intensity of his voice not dropping at all.

"Woah! Why on earth are you soaking wet?" Akira questioned, amusement painted on his face.

This, more than anything, made Tsukushi remember the reason why she was stupidly standing right there watching the three guys. She felt most unwelcome as all the three guys noticed her presence.

"YOU!!" the young man yelled as he took off the white long-sleeved shirt he was wearing, revealing the black undershirt he was wearing underneath.

"I… I'm… I'm terribly sorry!! It was an accident! Here… You can use this to dry up…" Tsukushi stuttered as she offered her handkerchief to the young man. She was dreadfully scared at every look he shot at him.

After completely freeing himself from the white shirt, he crumpled it and threw it right into Tsukushi's face. Bull's eye!

"It's already worth trash." The young man spoke in a low voice denoting apathy.

Tsukushi was appalled at the young man's display of manners. He was definitely the rudest person she has ever met. Hands down.

"I have already apologized for causing your clothes to be wet, baka! Didn't you hear? Can't you even accept an apology?" it was Tsukushi's turn to be completely irritated.

"Baka! If apology works, what is the police for?" the young man shot one of his eyebrows up as if challenging Tsukushi to answer than one.

"The police are for idiots like you who can neither act civilly nor accept an apology!" Tsukushi hollered back at him. "What an idiot! It is just water! Real men do not get daunted by water. And for your information, baka, water evaporates, meaning, no permanent damage done! But I guess that fact would be too much for your narrow brain to comprehend!" Tsukushi's temper was abruptly reaching his boiling point just with dealing with the young man.

"How dare you talk to me like that?! Do you even know who I am, you stupid woman?!" the young man was outraged at Tsukushi's treatment of him. She was definitely the most insolent person he met at Eitoku.

Tsukushi boldly walked toward the young man. She smirked absurdly, then SMACK! Tsukushi's knuckles found the young man's left cheek with a forceful impact causing his skin to redden, even redder than plain blush red.

"WHAT THE--?!"

"Thanks, but I'd rather not know the most arrogant jerk in this school!" Tsukushi was practically enraged as he walked from the stunned party of three.

"OI!!" the young man called. "You! Your days of hell will start tomorrow! Better get a good night sleep to be prepared!" he insinuated even further. "I am—"

- - R-R-I-I-I-I-I-N-G-G-G - -

Tsukushi was already far away to hear what the young man said. No matter what superhuman powers he had, his voice could not possibly overcome the resounding bell signifying that the students should start leaving soon.

'Ano baka onna…' the young man thought with a sinister smirk on his face. He stared at Tsukushi's retreating form as vile ideas of revenge crept to his brain.

'Ano baka otoko…' Tsukushi was still livid at the young man's attitude. She entered the Art club hall in a stomping fashion. She didn't even perceive the prying of every person in the hall as she grabbed her back and left in a flash. Her senses were clouded with visions of the young man, his voice, his stare. Everything about him enraged Tsukushi.

"Damn you!!" she let go of the rest of her pent-up rage in one blow. She screamed to her satisfaction. As her senses returned, she found herself standing at an emergency staircase. Her feet led her there; she had no idea why they led her there. She let herself admire the serenity of the place. She was the only one in sight.

"Why does it seem that this school is full of incredibly cocky jerks?!" she asked, demanding an answer from nobody in particular.

"Who is that idiot anyway?!" she then regretted not listening to what his name was.

"Argh!! Mou! It is pointless to know the name of a despicable jerk anyway!" she said as she was thrashing her hands up and down in fury. That was when she detected that she was holding the young man's shirt which he threw at him. She instantly scrunched up the dratted piece of clothing with her bare hands and stuffed it into her bag.

Inhale. Exhale. Tsukushi appreciated the silence in the emergency staircase. Her eyes were shot as the afternoon breeze fanned her face. As she opened them, the sun was already taking its leave in the sky, which signaled Tsukushi to head home.

Tsukushi reached home peacefully without any signs of arrogant jerks and weird guys.

"I'm home!" Tsukushi announced as she entered their house, finding her parents into the living room.

"Hmm…" Tsukushi noticed that four cups were present. "Was there a visitor just now?"

"Eh? Oh! Ummm…" Tsukushi's father stammered.

"Actually, Tsukushi we need to tell you something," Tsukushi's mother told her, her face gravely serious.

"NO!! Ano… Uhmm… Tsukushi, we just wanted to tell you that you should rest. You must have spent your energy in trying to adjust to your life in your new school. You deserve a break. Why don't you rest in your room for a while as we prepare dinner." His father said leading (or slightly pushing) her to her room.

Tsukushi sensed that her parents were hiding something from her – or about her. She was not stupid. She could read her parents expressions. She could tell from the way they talk.

The question is: what were her parents hiding from her?

Doesn't she deserve to know?

She had enough problems to worry about in school and now even her parents caused her to be anxious.

She still had to worry about the young man. Something about how he talked and looked at her made her feel that he was up to no good.

Who was that young man, anyway?

Could he be coming up with strategies of retaliation?

"ARGH!!" Tsukushi whined as she rumpled her hair making her look like she had a bird's nest on her head.

She then deeply sighed, as if releasing all her anxieties in one go.

Now there was only one problem left to think about…

What's for dinner?

...to be continued...

Thank you for patiently reading my story!

How was it? Read and review please.

It has been a while since I updated, huh? I was rather hoping that I could update weekly. No, I did not experience writer's block. No, I wasn't particularly busy. I was just attacked by an epidemic called laziness.

I am about to attend college in just more than a week. I am rather anxious about that. I wish I could still update my story while coping with college life.

Recently, I got addicted to jdramas and jmovies! i bought DVDs and watched on the Internet. It was very enjoyable…

To those who read and reviewed, thank you very much! Love you!

To **anime07, addieXmitsume** and **lhotshot83**, I am so happy that you like my story! I will try my best to update as regularly as possible…

Once again, any comments are highly appreciated and welcome...

Arigatou yo!


	5. Chapter 4 Crime and Punishment

One of the greatest wonders in life is how oblivion can bring peace to someone

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and a few extra characters… however, I own a ballpen that fails to write due to being dropped several times.

AN: By the way, I named Tsukushi's father Papa and her mother Mama. It would be confusing to use Makino-san for the both of them, and I have no idea what their first names are. Also, I couldn't think of any first name that would suit them.

Enjoy…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

** Twists of Fate **

_Chapter Four – Crime and Punishment_

_by: chocopeanutplease _

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

One of the greatest wonders in life is how oblivion can bring peace to someone…

Makino Tsukushi unexpectedly enjoyed a good night sleep. Their dinner was deep-fried chicken skin with some vegetables. It was ordinary, for the lack of a better word, but even the slightest bit of ordinariness can make Tsukushi happy as long as it was spent with her family. Family always came first before her own will. That was the extent of her loving her family.

She suddenly woke up and looked at her clock as a matter of habit.

"Ehhhh?!"

She only had a few minutes to spare before having to leave for school. She hurriedly got up, dressed up and made all the necessary preparations.

As she was briskly walking to the front door, she felt that she stepped on something solid and small. Raising her foot from the unknown object, she found a silver ring. It was plain. Incredibly plain. There were no carvings, no markings at all.

She stared at it, awed by its immense plainness.

"OH NO!!" she shrieked as she realized that she was about to be late.

Experiencing distractions can be a way of life…

She practically ran to her room, placed the ring in one of her drawers and then dashed out to leave the house.

Her parents were not at home as she left. Her father already attended to his job as a company employee. Her mother was working early to babysit more children and earn more for their daily expenses. Her little brother Susumu had already headed off to school before she even woke up.

Her family was normal in every way, just the usual middle class family. That was before her parents were told about the information yesterday afternoon before Tsukushi reached home.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yesterday afternoon…

Tsukushi's parents were spending their afternoon as they habitually do every day. Papa was reading the newspaper while Mama was cooking for dinner. A characteristic sound came from the pan as she was sautéing vegetables. Susumu was also in the living room, religiously doing his homework.

No one could guess that an ominous event was about to happen.

Just then, a knock at the door came.

"I'll go answer it," Papa called out to his wife as he folded the newspaper and walked toward the door.

"Thank you," Mama said as the aroma from the food spread around the house.

The opening of the front door revealed a tall man with a suit, coat and tie. He looked as old as Tsukushi's parents, but with a more refined countenance.

"Good afternoon, Makino-san. I have an important matter to discuss with you. May I come in?" the tall guy asked politely but with a degree of self-confidence.

"Uhmm… Who are you?" was all Papa could bring himself to say after staring at him, feeling the height difference between them.

"Oh, I am sorry I forgot to introduce myself!" the tall man's face lightened up as he realized his mistake. "My name is Shirota Makoto. I _was_ the lawyer of Doumyouji Kendo." He said bowing his head.

"Uhmm… And who exactly is Doumyouji Kendo?" Papa asked hesitantly.

"May I at least come in to explain? I have documents to show you," the tall man named Shirota Makoto said apologetically, feeling that he was intruding.

"Oh! I'm sorry… Sure, please enter. Our house is not tidy though…" Papa said as he directed Shirota Makoto to their living room.

"I'll go prepare some tea," Susumu volunteered as he saw the visitor enter. He was also glad to take a break from his studying.

Mama already finished her cooking and then went to sit with them. Susumu came back bringing four cups of tea. He served one to everyone including himself. He was also curious about what the tall guy had to say.

Shirota Makoto brought out what seemed to be legal documents from his suit case. He showed it to the Makinos.

"This is the contract between Doumyouji Kendo-san and Takashi-san before Doumyouji-san died. Please read it carefully," Shirota-san was rearranging his documents as the Makinos tried to comprehend the content of the contract.

"Ano… Shirota-san? I do not quite understand how this concerns us… It just said here that the heir of Doumyouji Kendo-san, his grandson, is supposed to marry the granddaughter of this Takashi-san. It just simply sounds like an arranged marriage…" Papa blurted out.

"Yes. You see, years ago, Takashi-san saved Doumyouji-san from a terrible fire. The building was all in flames and Doumyouji-san's legs were stuck under a huge concrete. Takashi-san risked his life as he entered the burning building to get Doumyouji-san into safety. Doumyouji-san was immensely grateful for this. He felt that he owed Takashi-san his life. He decided that Takashi-san's granddaughter would be a good match for his grandson, the heir of the Doumyouji Group. That was why he planned an arranged marriage for the two of them. Takashi-san also approved of this. It was in the last will and testament of the both of them. As their lawyer, I need to make sure that this is executed for their sake." Shirota-san carefully told the story to the Makinos, making them feel the need to cooperate with him.

"Huh…" the three listeners chorused.

"Your story sounds moving and all, but how is this related to us? I don't get it…" Papa asked, confused.

"Eh? Don't you recognize the name 'Takashi'? 'Makino Takashi', your father." Shirota-san said, baffled that Papa Makino didn't recognize the name at once.

It took a whole minute for the information to sink in.

"My father…" Papa Makino slowly pronounced.

"So the granddaughter is… our Tsukushi?!" Mama asked, exclamatorily as she recovered from her state of confusion.

Shirota-san merely nodded in response.

"You mean to say that my father wanted my Tsukushi to marry this Doumyouji-san's grandson?!" Papa asked, outraged.

"I believe so," Shirota-san replied. He half-expected their reaction to be such.

"Onee-chan..." Susumu whispered to himself.

"According to his will, they should marry after the grandson turns 18 to make sure that the company maintains its stability." Shirota-san added.

"And how old is he now?" Papa asked, anxious to know the answer.

"17." Shirota-san replied tersely.

All the information that Shirota-san shared overwhelmed the Makinos.

"Through the act of marriage, the Doumyoujis can provide financial support for your family. The children would also be funded for their education." Shirota-san explained, with an intention to convince.

"Papa, what should we do?" Mama asked her husband uncertainly.

"I do not approve of this." Papa Makino said firmly as he slammed his hand on the table top. "I want Tsukushi to live her life the way she wants. She doesn't need to be stuck with a husband at such an early stage in life. That girl is full of dreams! I want her to pursue her dreams and be herself. I don't care about the financial support! We can through our life if we stick together as a family. Even though we need the money, it is just wrong to use her." He said heatedly. "I do not approve of this!" he said with exasperation.

Shirota-san was shocked. He didn't know what to say.

It took quite a while for Papa Makino to calm down. Mama and Susumu looked at him concernedly. Shirota-san kept glancing at him as if afraid that he might explode.

"Do not tell Tsukushi anything about this. She doesn't need to be compromised." Papa commanded them with an air of superiority.

"Please leave…" Papa Makino suddenly said.

"Uhmm… Ok." Shirota-san said, standing up and turning to leave.

"I'll escort you out," Susumu volunteered.

"Wait." Papa Makino bluntly called out. Shirota-san faced him.

"What is the grandson's name?" Papa asked.

"Doumyouji Tsukasa."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile, luck was still on Tsukushi's side. She still reached Eitoku on time, even after experiencing delays at home.

She sprinted from the bus stop all the way to Eitoku so as not to be late. She was almost out of breath as she reached her destination: her locker.

It has been a habit for every Eitoku student to go to the locker first to deposit or withdraw some of their stuff.

She saw a red note placed inside her locker but she barely had the energy to read it. She recklessly slid it into her bag and then slid her notebooks in such a way that the note was crumpled inside.

She was still trying to catch her breath as she climbed a flight of staircases to her classroom: 2-C.

She was absent-minded. She was putting too much attention in trying to regain her normal breathing. She sat on her designated seat and laid her arms on her desk in a manner of resting.

Some things are invisible to hopelessly inattentive people…

Makino Tsukushi didn't even notice the transparent sticky glue that had been poured on her desk. Only her placing her arms on the desk made her realize this fact.

"UGH!! What the-!" she whispered as she raised her arm from the table in disgust.

She didn't notice the people around her to be smirking stealthily at her situation. She hurried to leave to go to the girls' washroom.

"Tsukushi!" Yuki called out as she saw the distressed Tsukushi leaving through the doorway. Tsukushi prioritize reaching the washroom that she didn't even had time to respond to Yuki who was with Shigeru and Sakurako.

"What's up with her?" Sakurako asked.

"Where is she going? The class is about to start." Shigeru added.

"Tsukushi…" Yuki whispered with worry.

Upon reaching the washroom, Tsukushi immediately washed off the glue from her arm. Good thing there was a supply of liquid soap there necessary for times like these. That was one of the perks of studying in a classy high school: having liquid soap in every washroom.

After finishing her washing up, she entered a cubicle to rid herself of some bodily fluids. Just then, a downpour of water came over her, followed by the sound of shrill laughter and the sound of hurried footsteps to leave.

"What the hell!? Why do I feel that people are targeting me for their sadistic needs?" Tsukushi said as she got out of the cubicle.

"I look as if I took a shower…" she whispered lifelessly as she stared at her reflection on the mirror.

She seriously needed to dry herself up.

As Tsukushi got out of the washroom with the intention of finding a place to dry herself, she was suddenly surrounded by people with silly smirks on their faces and with eggs and balls of flour on their hands. As if on cue, eggs and flour were aimed at her face and body as if they were attracted to her. Tsukushi deliberately shrieked in alarm. She pushed to break away from the people who were ganging up on her. As she managed to stop them from surrounding her, she ran as if trying to break a world record, but without a destination.

After a while, she found herself somewhere in the ground floor of the building. She could no longer hear the sounds of rapid footsteps from her pursuers.

"I think I've lost them." She brought out her handkerchief but realized that it was soaking wet due to her '_showering_' at the washroom. She still used it anyway to wash off the traces of egg and floor on her face.

"I think you need this." Tsukushi was alarmed as she heard the deep voice of the guy behind him. He was holding out a handkerchief, offering it to her.

The young guy was wearing a white sweater with a blue shirt inside. He paired it with denim jeans to produce a casual look. He was wearing huge sunglasses that seemed to cover most of his face so Tsukushi couldn't quite recognize him.

"Arigatou." Tsukushi accepted the guy's handkerchief as she was trying her best to take off her overcoat, which was wet, dirty and sticky.

"Do you know where the Principal's Office is?" the guy asked, amused at Tsukushi's state of clothing.

"I believe it's at the second floor. Somewhere there…" Tsukushi replied as she finally managed to get rid of her overcoat, which landed on the floor.

The young guy couldn't help but notice the noise of a group of people that was nearing them.

"Nee… Why are there people running toward this direction?" the guy innocently asked without looking at Tsukushi.

Panic came over Tsukushi.

"Yabai!" she ran her world record speed once again to escape her '_fans_'.

The young guy understood the situation right away but noticed that Tsukushi left her overcoat lying on the ground. He hurriedly hid it behind one of the posts and turned to face the horde of people.

"Where is she?!" "Did you see her?!" The group demanded an answer from the young guy.

"Who?" the young guy feigned innocence.

"The girl! The dirty girl running around!!" the leader said, frustrated at the guy's apparent uselessness.

"Oh her! You see, there are a lot of people who could be referred to by the pronouns 'she' and 'her'. Understand? You have to clarify whom you are referring to. How do you expect me to respond right away if you do not construct your questions clearly and effectively? Also, be polite in asking. Learn to have some manners! Impatience is a no-no. And -"

"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?!" the crowd bellowed.

The young guy gave them a smile. It was one of those rare occasions when he had a good deal of fun exercising his sadism with people who deserved it. It had been a while since he had done that. It had been a while since he spoke that much for the sake of his own amusement and for the sake of sparing someone else from pointless suffering in the hands of bullies.

"Now, now. Calm down, you people." He said slowly as if biding more time to toy with them. "She ran off that way," pointing, of course, the direction opposite of where Tsukushi actually ran off to.

The young guy smiled, pleased with himself.

Meanwhile, Makino Tsukushi was on the rooftop of the school building. She didn't know why. Her feet just led her there for reasons only her instinct could tell.

Luckily, there was a faucet there. She then realized that she was holding the handkerchief the young guy lent her. That handkerchief was relatively clean as compared to her current condition. She set it aside to keep it clean and to prevent it from being stained. She took her own handkerchief, wet it, and use it to get rid of the stain of eggs and flour on her uniform.

Success evaded her.

As the result of her cleaning, her uniform had tinges of yellowness at scattered parts due to the yolk. Her clothes were yellowish and wet.

"My cell phone!" Tsukushi had forgotten that her phone was on her pocket. Of course it also got wet. Fortunately enough, it was still working properly. As she was about to place it on the bench, a familiar ringing came from it. She knew who the caller was right away.

"Tsukushi!! Where are you? Are you all right?!"

Typical Yuki, worrying about her best friend.

"Yuki, I'm fine now. I'm on the rooftop. Don't worry anymore," Tsukushi said calmly, trying to pacify her friend.

"Rooftop? We'll go there right away." It was apparent that Tsukushi failed in pacifying Yuki. She was still dead worried.

Yuki's voice was sounding just a few seconds after their conversation. Yuki, Shigeru and Sakurako were at the rooftop almost immediately.

"What happened to you?" Yuki held Tsukushi's arms and demanded an answer while surveying her clothing.

Tsukushi provided them a detailed account of the events that happened. They listened attentively and reacted at all the proper times.

A moment of silence followed her story.

"By chance, did you see a red note in your locker this morning?" Sakurako curiously asked, apprehensive of Tsukushi's answer.

"Yeah. I placed it in my bag. I didn't read what's in it though…"

"Oh yeah, I brought your bag, Tsukushi-chan," Shigeru handed Tsukushi the bag with unfailing energy.

"Well, that explains it." Sakurako asserted, nodding slowly.

"What do you mean? Wait, it's somewhere in here." Tsukushi tried to extract the red note from the messy inside of her school bag. As she held it facing her, it read _'F4'_.

"So, tell us. What on earth did you do to offend the F4?" Sakurako asked boredly now that she knew the reason for Tsukushi's current situation.

"The F4? Nothing, I just…" then Tsukushi recounted the tale about the splashing-water-on-Doumyouji-Tsukasa's-shirt thing, which she hadn't told anybody before.

Yuki and Shigeru eyed Tsukushi with concern and worry and… pity.

"Rule Number One: Never offend any of the F4 or else your life would be hell, as you've obviously experienced." Sakurako taught Tsukushi but she was still confused.

"Tsukushi, anyone who offends the F4 will receive a red tag. Then the whole student body will torture him or her." Yuki explained.

"It's inescapable. Every person can be an enemy and target you. This red tag thing has been going on since last year. A lot of people have left Eitoku because of this. They were terrified. You have to be careful, Tsukushi-chan," Shigeru added.

Tsukushi sighed. "I understand it now. Now go to class. I'm fine now."

"Are you sure, Tsukushi? I can stay if you need someone." Yuki offered.

"Don't use me as an excuse to skip classes." Tsukushi smiled at the three and winked at Yuki. "I think I'll go home now."

"Be careful, okay?"

"And run fast whenever necessary, okay?"

"Don't do anything reckless around the F4 again. Take care, Tsukushi!"

The three waved Tsukushi goodbye as they headed to class.

Tsukushi let the wind fan her face for a while to refresh her spirit. She grabbed her phone and placed it in her pocket. She took the young guy's handkerchief, folded it properly and carefully laid it in her bag.

She didn't want to go home right away. She knew her parents would worry if she went back early.

Once again, she let her instincts take over. She trusted her instincts that it wouldn't lead her right to her sadistic pursuers.

Before she knew it, she was in the emergency staircases where she had been the day before.

'Must be fate, huh?' she thought as she went to get a good view of the outside.

Tsukushi breathed in deeply and heaved a deep sigh, as if releasing all the stress she had been through just this morning.

"Sugoi." A deep voice of a guy broke the silence.

Tsukushi abruptly turned; alarmed once again that someone was with her, alarmed by the same young guy as before.

"What is so amazing?" Tsukushi required an answer right away. That was when she noticed that the young guy was no longer wearing his sunglasses. Her marble eyes were stunning to Tsukushi. She felt that she was mirrored in his eyes. It was magical.

"You seem harassed at such an early morning." The young guy declared. He seemed to be interested about Tsukushi. Or perhaps he was just plain entertained.

"Yeah. Tell me about it…" Tsukushi snorted. "Thanks to the F4 and their stupid red tag." she bitterly replied.

Her answer made the young guy raise an eyebrow, though unnoticeable to Tsukushi.

"Red tag?"

"Yeah. Once you get one, anybody from the student body can target you for torture. What a stupid thing! Are the people here that bored that watching other people suffer entertains them?! Damn!" Tsukushi stated, utterly disconcerted.

"Huh." The young guy said, awed by the information.

"You should be careful with the F4 too! Never offend them, okay?" Tsukushi said with genuine concern.

"Uhmm… yeah, I will…" the young guy felt weird to be reminded about such.

"Thanks for your help earlier ; it gave me time to escape. I owe you!" her eyes glimmering with evident gratitude.

"Your overcoat!"

"Hmmm?"

"I left it at the Principal's Office. I forgot! I'll go get it…" he started to stand up with panic.

"No, it's fine. Please stay. I need company more than that stupid overcoat. Plus, it's filthy anyway." She insisted.

"Whatever you say," he shrugged. "I'll just return it tomorrow, then."

"Why were you looking for the Principal's Office anyway?"

"I'm transferring here. I'll be studying here starting tomorrow. I just came from France. I'm in second year."

"Sugoi! We're in the same year. Perhaps we're classmates too!" Tsukushi was delighted to at least have an additional friendly classmate.

"I hope so," the young guy beamed at her, revealing his perfectly aligned set of teeth.

A ring suddenly came from the young guy's phone. Tsukushi surveyed him as he received the call. She didn't hear the conversation. She was too busy staring at his figure with intense curiosity.

"I need to go," he stated all of a sudden.

"Oh!" Tsukushi was taken aback. She didn't detect that his phone call was already over. "Ok, then. I'll stay here."

"I'm sorry. Are you sure you are going to be okay?" he asked anxiously.

"It's all right! I'm fine! _Please leave…_" Tsukushi realized what she had just said and then laughed. The young guy's lips curled into a smile.

"What I mean is: you can leave if you need to leave," she spoke while still laughing at her words.

"I understand," he assured. "Take care, okay?"

"I will!" she called out. Tsukushi then closed her eyes, displaying a peaceful face, in spite of her endeavor earlier. She didn't notice that the young guy had not yet left and was even watching her vigilantly.

"This emergency staircase sure is peaceful, isn't it?" the young guy said. Tsukushi took in a sharp breath. She gasped; shocked at discovering that she was still not alone. The look on her face amused the young guy.

"Ja ne!" the young guy waved as he officially left. Tsukushi, however, stood there staring at the door where he left from.

The young guy headed to the Principal's Office to get his papers that would formally make him a student of Eitoku. He was still smiling to himself though about what he witnessed at the emergency staircase.

The look on Tsukushi's face was just too disarming, too peaceful, and too angelic.

Upon reaching the Principal's Office, the secretary handed the documents to him right away, along with his ID.

"Arigatou gozaimasu," he said to the secretary.

"_Welcome to Eitoku, Hanazawa-san."_

...to be continued...

**AN:**

Thank you for reading this chapter!

How was it? Read and review please.

I have to admit that it has been a REALLY long while since I updated. I have just entered college. Perhaps I got overwhelmed with trying to adjust and all. Plus, I am aiming for a scholarship so I try to do my best in every test. Here I go again. Grade-conscious mode…

Yes, I was busy with studying. What a pity. Still, I was inspired by your reviews to add another chapter for you to enjoy.

Recently, I watched La Corda d'Oro, an anime. It was nice. The opening song became my LSS for a week. And I got addicted to the violin duet of Ave Maria by Schubert.

It was very enjoyable! I recommend that you watch it…

To those who read and reviewed, thank you very much! Love you!

To **anime07, addieXmitsume**, **lhotshot83**, **blueprincess16** and **NorikoTheGhost**, thank you for taking time to review. I really enjoyed reading your reviews. They inspired me to write more.

I will try my best to update as regularly as possible…

Once again, any comments are highly appreciated and welcome...

Arigatou yo!


	6. Chapter 5 Overwhelming Revelations

AN: I am back from my almost-one-year hibernation.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and a few extra characters…

- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -

**~* Twists of Fate *~ **

_Chapter Five – Overwhelming Revelations_

_by: chocopeanutplease _

- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -

"_Welcome to Eitoku, Hanazawa-san."_

Yes, that's right. Hanazawa Rui is back in Japan. He was already an official second year student of Eitoku.

After leaving the Principal's office, the temptation to surprise the other F4 was just too overwhelming to be overcome. True, he knew little about the place, but just a little interrogation from other students could get him to where he wanted. He wore his huge sunglasses to somehow conceal his identity, bringing Makino's wet overcoat in one hand, which he took from the Principal's office.

He paced, tall and domineering, looking for anyone he could ask who may know something about the F4's whereabouts. He preferred to ask innocent-looking guys because girls just might figure out who he was. Just might. Nande darou naa?

Just then, a guy about five feet tall was passing by. He looked like a lost first year. Chance!

"Excuse me. Do you happen to know where the F4 are?" Rui asked politely. It was characteristic of Rui to force politeness to get what he wanted.

"I-I-I d-don't know!" and the first year student rapidly ran off, as if afraid of giving information to Rui, or perhaps just frightened at the subject of the F4.

Rui tried to ask some other people to no avail. He got the same reaction from all of them. Fright, horror, terror, shock, you name it.

'I guess I just have to find them myself,' Rui thought. He began his search.

Library. 'Of course they are not here. Have they ever been here? Do they even know where the library is?'

Classrooms. 'They hate classes. Why would they hang out in classrooms?'

Rooftop. 'Rarely.'

Rui snorted. 'This temptation to surprise them is killing me. I guess I should just call them and tell them I'm here.'

Just then, a loud grumbling came from Rui's stomach. 'This is what I get from looking for those idiots.'

He headed straight to the Eitoku cafeteria to grab something to eat. He heard loud cackles from the upper lounge. He watched for a while and found out that the cackles were not because of mirth. They were because of cruelty.

Doumyouji Tsukasa was beating up a guy. Rui had no idea who that guy was. Rui had no idea why his friend was beating up a guy. It was not the Tsukasa he knew. He was a brute. He didn't seem normal.

'Tsukasa!' Rui thought as he hurried to rescue the poor guy. Rui did make it on time.

Just as Tsukasa was about to give his final blow to the guy, Rui covered the guy with his body in such a way that Tsukasa's fist hit Rui's right cheek.

Everyone was in shock. The poor beaten up guy was awed that someone dared to save him from the hands of the monster named Doumyouji Tsukasa. Tsukasa was confused as to why another person butted in and destroyed his fun. Akira and Soujiro, who were just sitting there, watching the whole entire time, stood up to get a better view. The whole cafeteria was silenced as everyone watched the scene.

Rui, however, could taste blood from his mouth. It wasn't good. He was wearing his sunglasses; so, nobody noticed him yet.

"Tsukasa, you BAKA!!!" Rui shouted as he removed his sunglasses and touched his bruised cheek.

Akira, Soujiro and Tsukasa were stunned, for the lack of a better word.

"R-R-Rui! Welcome back!" Tsukasa was the first to regain composure.

"Yeah, right. What a nice welcoming gift you have for me!" Rui said sarcastically as he assisted the poor guy down the flight of staircases.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Tsukasa asked.

"Helping the poor guy whom you took the liberty of beating up," Rui called out as he led the guy out of the cafeteria and to the clinic.

"Oi!" the F4 called out to Rui as they followed him.

After Rui deposited the poor guy safely in the clinic, he turned to face the F4 who had been following him all along.

"You! What on earth have you been doing? What's the big idea, beating up people like that?" Rui demanded an answer as he directed his eyes straight at Tsukasa.

"Let's have a drink and we'll explain it to you." Tsukasa proposed and everyone agreed. They went to a bar named Frentzen and ordered their drinks. They abandoned their classes altogether.

"Cheers to Rui for being _black_!" Tsukasa said as he raised his glass.

"_Black_?!" Akira asked.

"Nani sore?!" Soujiro said.

"You have changed a lot, Tsukasa, but I see that your stupidity hasn't changed yet," Rui said indifferently. "Cheers to me for being _back_!" Rui said, emphasizing the last word to Tsukasa with eyes wide open.

"That's what I said!" Tsukasa brushed them off with a wave of a hand.

"Geez. Can't you at least welcome me properly?" Rui commented. "What's with that a while ago?" Rui demanded.

"Oh, that! You see, you shouldn't have intervened. That guy deserved a beating! He was looking at us weirdly and everything…" Tsukasa justified his actions.

"Just that? Just because he was looking at you weirdly?! Seriously!" Rui was outraged at what his friends had been doing.

"We decided to come up with a red tag," Akira explained.

"Red tag?" Rui asked curiously, remembering what Makino told her. '_Once you get one, anybody from the student body can target you for torture. What a stupid thing! Are the people here that bored that watching other people suffer entertains them_?!'

"Yeah, we give it to anyone who acts improperly towards us, so they will learn proper manners." Soujiro elaborated.

"What the hell for?!" Rui challenged.

"To rule the place! Remember Niccolo Macchiavelli? '_It is better to be feared than to be loved if you can't be both._'" Tsukasa reasoned out.

"What's the point in ruling Eitoku? It's just a school." Rui said.

"You're too naïve, Rui." Soujiro commented.

"Ruling the school can be compared to ruling a company. We're just using Eitoku as a training ground." Akira explained.

Rui tried to process everything his friends had said. He never really thought about it that way. Ruling a school is comparable to ruling a company. Still, it was not in his concerns. He had no intentions of ruling any company in the first place.

"Anyway, how are you?" Akira asked excitedly.

"Yeah. How's France? Did you meet some hot French girls so you stayed there for so long?" Soujiro asked teasingly.

"Don't be stupid. He already has Shizuka." Tsukasa commented.

Before Rui could answer any of their questions, a loud ringing came from Tsukasa's phone.

"Moshi moshi," Tsukasa answered, and immediately moved away from the group to keep the phone conversation private.

Meanwhile, the three were still bickering in the table.

"So, any improvements with Shizuka?" Akira asked.

"Or any new lovers? Come on… It's France! There should be girls everywhere," Soujiro reasoned.

Rui merely rolled his eyes at the two and just looked at Tsukasa instead. Tsukasa was still on the phone with his back facing them. Rui couldn't tell who Tsukasa was talking with.

Perhaps it would still take time before Tsukasa would get off the phone…

"Whatever. I just studied the entire time," Rui shrugged as he answered the curious Akira and Soujiro.

"STUDY??" the two chorused.

"Stop messing with us Rui," Akira commented.

"What a blatant lie! Don't try to get away with the topic." Soujiro remarked.

"Honto da yo. My mother entered me into a university there to study business administration for a year. I was also tutored during my free time." Rui said.

"Damn, man! You stayed for a whole year in France and all you did was study?! How lame is that?!" Soujiro said.

"Hmm… My teacher was quite good-looking though." Rui said with a smirk. His teacher was actually male. He just wanted to tease the two playboys, make them hear what they want to hear.

"Spill!"

"What was she like?"

Before they could continue their conversation, Tsukasa cut them off with a sudden goodbye.

"I got to go. My mother said she had something important to discuss with me." Tsukasa said, looking apprehensive. He looked at the three apologetically and dashed out of the bar. Three pair of eyes followed Tsukasa's retreating figure.

"Wonder what that was about…" Akira pondered loudly.

"Anyway, Rui - " Soujiro started, wanting to continue their conversation about Rui's alleged good-looking tutor. Just then, another ringing of a phone greeted their ears, cutting Soujiro in his desire to interrogate Rui.

"Moshi moshi." Rui said as he immediately moved away from the two to keep the phone conversation private, just like Tsukasa had done minutes before.

"What is this?! Call-a-Friend day?!" Soujiro demanded, seemingly irritated.

"Aww… Calm down. Just let them be." Akira said, as he displayed his ever calm face. As Soujiro looked at him, calmness seemed to have rubbed off on the former.

"Want to make a bet?" Soujiro suggested just to get rid of boredom.

"Bet?" Akira asked, taken aback. "About what?"

"It's the '_Who-is-Rui-talking-to-on-the-phone?_' game!" Soujiro said comically. Akira was too amused at Soujiro's ideas that he immediately agreed.

"Fine. Loser gets to shout at the top of his voice inside this bar." Akira proposed the terms of the game, saying the first thing that popped into his mind.

"Deal. You go first." Soujiro said curtly.

Akira surveyed Rui for a while before coming up with a decision. Rui had his body turned back from them so Akira couldn't easily guess from his kinesics and facial expressions.

"He is talking to his mother." Akira stated matter-of-factly after one whole minute.

Soujiro snorted. "What made you say that?"

"Well, Tsukasa was on the phone with his mother a while ago. Just a wild guess." Akira reasoned regarding his guess.

"Whatever. I think it's Tsukasa." Soujiro said as he slightly leaned back on his chair with an air of indifference.

"Tsukasa??" Akira blurted out as he stared at Soujiro as if demanding a reasonable explanation for that guess.

The two barely noticed as Rui approached them, ready to deliver his news.

"I'm sorry guys, I need to go as well." Rui said after helping himself to one last gulp from his drink. Rui did not notice the grumpy expressions on their faces. "Ja!" he said turning his back, ready to take leave.

"Wait!" Akira called out. "Who was that on the phone?"

"Kaa-chan!" Rui raised his voice to let them hear.

Akira wore a triumphant yet shocked look on his face. His wild guess had been right after all.

That was one of the times when wild ideas turn out to be better than well thought-of ones.

However, Soujiro was wearing a triumphant look as well.

Without warning, Soujiro let out a yell that sounded like a growl of a wild beast. The bar shook alarmingly. Every head inside it turned to their direction.

Akira raised one of his eyebrows and pointed out, "You sure enjoy attention when Tsukasa's not around."

Soujiro had a sinister smile plastered on his face after the feat and after hearing Akira's statement.

- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -

As Rui reached the place he and his mother were staying, he was breathing wildly. He had just run all the way from the bar, having no privilege of a chauffeur following him around. It had been a two kilometer run and he was glad it ended.

As he was in front of the door to his room, he was unceremoniously greeted by his mother, Hanazawa Haruko. She was wearing semi-formal clothing with a tinge of businesslike feel. She was placing her earring as Rui came in.

"Just in time, son. Now dress up and look smart. We were invited to a dinner by very important people." She said as she picked out decent polo and slacks perfect for making his son look impressive. She chose black slacks and midnight blue long sleeves and placed them on Rui's bed.

Rui was amazed at how his mother gracefully held the clothes that she wanted him to wear. He took them and carefully laid them on the bed and then headed to the bathroom. He washed his face then looked at the mirror. He thought that he looked like the epitome of a stressed marathon runner. He washed his face a second time as if to remove the traces of fine lines. As he emerged from the bathroom, he saw his mother holding out a gray tie.

"Kaa-chan, I hate ties! I don't need to wear that!" Rui complained and darted towards his mother to snatch the tie away from her.

"Rui," her mother started, suddenly on serious mode. "This is important. Just this night, please wear a tie."

Rui noted the seriousness in his mother's voice and half-heartedly obliged.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Rui asked just to divert the topic from the stupid tie.

"Maple Hotel." His mother replied tersely.

A car came to pick them up, mother and son.

No word was exchanged between them until they reached their destination.

As the car stopped at the entrance of the hotel, Rui got out of the car carefully so as not to leave creases on his impeccable get up. His mother went ahead and walked a couple of meters before him with her poised gait.

Their table was empty; the people they were supposed to have dinner with had not yet arrived. Rui felt slightly relieved, but tension built up afterwards. He was curious regarding who they would meet and he believed his mother would not tell him anything had he asked.

Rui sat on a seat with his back facing the entrance of the dining hall. His mother sat on a seat across the table. Rui paid attention to the elegant table setting. It was just like the restaurants in France. The center of the table was adorned with dimly lit lamp giving away a sensual feel. Rui set the table napkin on his lap and as he was about to take a sip of water, his mother stood up and held her arms out graciously as if welcoming something – or somebody.

Rui stood as well and turned around to see the well-awaited guests. It was a party of four that seemed like business people. Rui focused his eyes on the youngest one who was almost as tall as him. As the group drew closer, Rui could have sworn that the youngest guy looked like a long lost twin of Tsukasa. The group's youngest guy, on the other hand, was processing thoughts similar to Rui's – that the real Rui before him looked like 'a long lost twin of Rui.'

They were too intent on staring at each other that they did not notice the people around them. Introductions were made, which brought the two back to the real world.

"It has been a while," Rui's mother greeted.

"A long while at that," a person from the group answered. She was a woman, with an air of superiority one would not dare to challenge.

"Konbanwa," a man from the group greeted as he shook the hand of Rui's mother. Based on his age, it seemed that he was the husband of the woman.

"Haruko, how are you?" the old lady from the group said as she kissed Hanazawa Haruko on the cheeks.

"I've been doing well, ma'am. I was delighted when I received your invitation! It has been years!" Hanazawa Haruko replied graciously. She turned and saw the young guy. "And I believe this young man is - "

"Doumyouji Tsukasa. Pleasure to meet you." Tsukasa politely smiled as he shook her hand.

"And it would be very ridiculous to introduce you to my Rui…" she laughed.

Tsukasa and Rui stared at each other with thought bubbles filled with question marks. Why were they there? Why were their families gathered for a dinner? Was it a business meeting of some sort? Neither of them knew. They just sat there and waited for an explanation.

The party of four consisted of Tsukasa's parents: mother Kaede and father Tsunabi, Tsukasa's grandma Sayuri, and of course, Tsukasa.

The six people ate the delectable food that was specially prepared by the staff of Maple Hotel just for them. The four adults talked, exchanged stories and laughed once in a while. Tsukasa and Rui quietly chewed as they listened to the conversations.

As desserts were served, Doumyouji Kaede blurted out, "I think some people here need to be informed."

Every head on the table turned to Kaede. Rui's and Tsukasa's face exhibited curiosity and longing.

"Let me tell the story," Grandma Sayuri volunteered after taking a small bite of blueberry cheesecake. She shifted in her seat to face the two teenagers.

"Years and years ago, a man named Doumyouji Tsunabi died of heart attack while his wife was in her seventh month of pregnancy. Realizing that she had to be strong for her unborn child, she pretended that everything was okay. However, she knew that a huge burden was upon her: she had to take over her husband's company. She reluctantly left her three year old child under the care of her parents, the boy's grandparents. She went to France and rarely returned to Japan." Grandma Sayuri finished her story rather abruptly as she took a drink of water.

"My mother?" Rui asked before he could resist himself. He wanted to ask earlier as the description of the woman very much fitted her mother.

Grandma Sayuri just nodded curtly.

Questions built up again inside Rui. He needed clarifications. Now.

"Doumyouji Tsunabi?"

Grandma Sayuri nodded with a trace of smile.

Rui knew that his father was named Tsunabi, but 'Doumyouji Tsunabi?' _Doumyouji?_

"Then," Tsukasa pondered. "Rui is…"

"You two are cousins." Grandma Sayuri answered before Tsukasa could even finish the question.

Tsukasa blinked. He didn't know what kind of reaction he should display. Rui was stunned.

"I believed it is getting late and these two still have classes tomorrow," Hanazawa Haruko started.

"Yes, we should call it a night." Doumyouji Tsubasa seconded.

They all got up and walked to leave the dining hall. Tsukasa and Rui stayed behind.

"Amazing. Who could have thought that we are relatives?" Tsukasa spoke silently, keeping their conversation private for no particular reason.

"Yeah… but after all these years of being buddies, I don't think being blood-related will change anything." Rui said.

Tsukasa merely grinned in response.

At the entrance of the hotel, they parted ways. Rui and his mother went back to the hotel they were staying while the Doumyoujis returned to the mansion.

At the hotel…

Rui gathered his nightwear to get ready for sleep. It was almost midnight and he was too tired. He entertained his own private thoughts, so there was an invisible barrier in his ears from anything happening around him.

"You really should be the heir, Rui. Why do you think I made you study Business Administration and Economics in France? It shouldn't be that Tsukasa. The only thing he knows is to fool around. I will do something. I have to…" Hanazawa Haruko spoke more to herself than to Rui. The latter barely registered what his mother just said. His mind was full of thoughts of Tsukasa and of the F4.

What 'heir' was his mother talking about? And why was she so desperate to make Rui the so-called 'heir?'

- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -

The next day…

Rui went to Eitoku a little too early because he was apprehensive of getting lost. He walked along the corridors and spotted a sign on the door of the classroom. It was similar to what was written in the crumpled piece of paper in his hand.

2-C.

He slowly entered and paced around the room. He had never been to a Japanese high school classroom before because he was in France. He motioned towards the announcement board when the door creaked.

Makino Tsukushi absent-mindedly entered the classroom without noticing the guy who was standing stupidly at the corner. She sat on her chair on the last column and looked blankly out the window.

Rui coughed to announce his presence. Tsukushi abruptly turned her head that her neck gave her a searing pain.

'Ow!' She gently massaged her neck as she stood from her chair and faced the guy.

"Ohayo gozaimasu!" Rui greeted her politely.

"You! You were that guy from yesterday!" Tsukushi said with a shrill voice that connoted surprise.

"Thought I might be seeing you…" Rui said. "I brought your overcoat. Clean and dry." Rui smirked as he handed it to Tsukushi.

"Thanks! Wow… You have saved me from those bullies and you even took the trouble of getting my overcoat cleaned. How can I ever repay you?" Tsukushi said earnestly. She was obviously thankful that such a person had transferred to her school… to her class, even.

"Just tell me your name."

"Makino Tsukushi desu." She said as she eyed him rather curiously.

"Now, you have repaid me half…" Rui said mysteriously.

Just then, students came entering the classroom and went to their respective seats. Tsukushi sat on her chair once again while Rui sat on the chair of the last column of the last row. He leaned on his table and laid his head on his arms, a position of sleep. Because of this, people hardly recognized him no matter how popular he was. They were too busy with their own glamorous lives. All except Tsukushi.

"Ohayo, minna…" Yamaguchi-sensei greeted the class with her usual bright face.

Rui straightened up on his seat to show some respect to his new teacher.

"Before anything else, I would like the class to welcome your new classmate, Hanazawa Rui-san." She said as she pointed towards Rui.

Murmurs and conversations broke out here and there.

"Did she say Hanazawa Rui?"

"Is he really our classmate?"

Sakurako leaned towards Shigeru's table. "This is our chance!" she whispered. A look of knowing was evident in the eyes of the two girls. They had always been fond of the F4.

Rui just bent his head slightly to show acknowledgment.

After the necessary introductions, the class started and Rui did not bother taking notes.

Lunchtime was a usual affair. Students go to the cafeteria to buy their extravagant meals. Tsukushi, however, brought her own bento and ate with Yuki who did the same. Shigeru and Sakurako brought bentos as well even though they could afford Eitoku's extravagant meals just so that the four of them could eat together. Only five people were left in the classroom: the four of them and Rui.

Rui was not in the mood to eat. He was only in the mood to sleep. He was always in the mood to sleep. Once again, like he did hours ago, he leaned on his table and used his arms as pillows.

Tsukushi noticed that Rui was not eating.

"Do you think we should, uhm, offer him food or something?" Tsukushi asked the three with a soft voice, careful not to make Rui notice that they were having a conversation about him.

"Hey, he's no beggar." Sakurako answered rather rudely though deep inside, he was longing to share her bento with him, with Hanazawa Rui, one of his beloved F4.

"Whatever. I only have eyes for Doumyouji Tsukasa." Shigeru said as she took a huge bite from her tempura.

"I think if he is hungry, he would have gone to the cafeteria to buy food. I mean, surely he can afford it, right?" Yuuki said reasonably.

Tsukushi was still bothered that Rui was not eating during lunchtime. She was always told by her mother not to skip meals. No matter how poor they were, they made sure that they ate three times a day.

Tsukushi stood up, bringing her bento with her, and walked towards Rui.

"A- Ano… Ha- Hanazawa Rui… uhm…" Tsukushi stuttered, lost for words.

Rui glanced up at her, with his sleepy eyes. She was holding a piece of chicken with her chopsticks. She didn't mean to feed him or anything. She actually didn't know what made her talk to him. Surprisingly, as Rui saw the chicken cutlet, he made a swift motion to place it in his mouth. One moment, it was dangling on Tsukushi's chopsticks, the next moment, it was in Rui's mouth, being torn into smaller pieces.

Sakurako, Shigeru and Yuuki were watching the whole time. They froze at Rui's antics. Even Tsukushi was shocked beyond belief.

Rui continued to chew and devour on the piece of meat.

"It's delicious. Thank you." He said as he swallowed. "Cleared of all debts." He said. Tsukushi remembered, _'How can I ever repay you?'_

She just smiled in return.

Just then, the door swung open wildly. "Rui!" a man said from the door.

After hearing that voice, Tsukushi tensed up and instinctively ducked, hoping to be blocked from view through Rui's table. Rui stood and walked toward the source of the commotion. This gave Tsukushi time to relax a bit, but she still hid there.

"We have been expecting you!" Soujiro said

"Why weren't you in the cafeteria?" Akira asked.

"Not particularly hungry…" Rui shrugged. It was true. His mother made her eat a feast of a breakfast because she was also apprehensive for her son.

Sakurako and Shigeru were thrilled that the F4 were standing inside their classroom. They stopped eating just to watch as the four conversed.

"Why don't you just transfer to our class? It's 2-A. That way we don't need to fetch you here…" Tsukasa proposed.

"Fetch? No one's asking you to fetch me…" Rui answered. However, Tsukasa's attention was suddenly diverted by what he spotted.

Tsukasa saw a girl entering 2-B alone. She walked prim and proper with her short, shoulder-length hair clipped on one side. Tsukasa focused his attention on her; Rui stood forgotten.

Her name was Amane Mizuki. Tsukasa had admired ever since they were young. They were childhood friends who somewhat drifted apart. Still, Tsukasa still clung to his admiration for her.

Meanwhile, more students entered 2-C, even the teacher came, signaling the F3 to leave.

"See you later…"

"Yeah… bye…" Rui said.

The moment the F3 left, Tsukushi stood up and went back to her proper seat. Without the F3 in sight, she felt safe and relieved.

"Ok, ok. Settle down." Onizuka-sensei said. He was their English teacher. At the back of the classroom, he spotted Rui who looked rather lethargic.

"Hanazawa-san, please transfer to that seat," Onizuka-sensei said pointing to the seat directly to the right of Makino Tsukushi's.

As Rui sat, Tsukushi was careful not to look at him. She was quite embarrassed about the incident earlier.

Onizuka-sensei greeted the class with a quiz about English grammar. It was simple; Rui need not take the previous lessons to be able to get perfect score.

The day went on as uneventful as possible after that.

Right after dismissal, the F4 went to a bar near the school named Blue Light. As much as possible, they wanted to try every bar in the vicinity and then go back to the bar they first went, as if a cycle.

"We lost you a while ago…" Rui noted toTsukasa.

"What? Who… me? What did I-?"

"You suddenly went in a daze after you asked me to transfer." Rui accused the defensive Tsukasa.

"Oh yes, about you transferring to our class, I can easily fix…"

"Don't change the subject." Rui cut in before Tsukasa could finish the sentence.

"Well, Rui, while you were in France, our friend Tsukasa here has developed a huge mental crush on…"

"Shut up, Soujiro! Don't talk about that when I am around!" Tsukasa snarled.

"You mean we can talk about it when you are _not_ around? Thanks for the tip." Akira's remarked gained him a frown from Tsukasa.

"Stop it! Just because we're cousins, it does not mean that he needs to know everything about my business." Tsukasa said rather sourly.

"Cousins?" Soujiro and Akira asked blankly.

And then it hit Tsukasa and Rui. They forgot to tell their two best friends about what happened the night before. Tsukasa took the honor of retelling the tale.

Soujiro whistled as Tsukasa finished. They pondered on the said idea for a while.

"Well, being cousins or not does not really change anything." Akira stated matter-of-factly and everyone at the table silently agreed.

Just like what happened the night before, Tsukasa's phone rang and he distanced himself from the group.

"Wow. That guy sure is busy," Soujiro said as he gulped the contents of his glass.

"So," Rui started. The two looked at him wondering where he was getting at. "What was that about Tsukasa's huge mental crush?" Rui asked with a characteristic smirk.

The two earnestly filled Rui in with their limited knowledge regarding Amane Mizuki.

Amane Mizuki was Tsukasa's childhood friend. Because Mizuki's mother was a maid in the Doumyouji mansion, Mizuki frequently came along with her. That was when the two of them were merely three years old. She was his neighbor and they used to play a lot in the Doumyouji garden. They pretended to be gardeners; they tilled the soil using mini-shovels, scattering dirt all over their faces and clothes. They were together until they were seven.

When Mizuki was seven years old, her mother decided to marry an English gentleman. From then on, Mizuki and her mother stayed in London. Before she left, she visited Tsukasa for the last time. However, she didn't tell Tsukasa that she would be leaving, without the certainty of coming to Japan again.

Tsukasa placed a key chain on Mizuki's left palm. It was a replica of a small shovel, just like what they used to play with a lot. She smiled. His carefree grin, which was oblivious of the fact that she was leaving, saddened her. It was inevitably heartbreaking. She felt guilty about not telling him that she was leaving, that they might not meet again. Mizuki took Tsukasa's left wrist and placed a bracelet of flowers which they planted together years before. She knew that the flowers on the bracelet would soon wilt.

All she wanted was for Tsukasa to remember her until the time the flowers dry up and to live his own life after that.

The following day, Tsukasa discovered the truth from the other maids. He was a pampered child who usually got whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. It was the first time that he was totally out of control of the situation. He hated it. He changed. The kind and friendly Tsukasa turned into an arrogant, self-righteous boy.

That same day, he was introduced to Rui, Soujiro and Akira. That was the beginning of the F4. At first, the three were very much intimated of Tsukasa and his character. Still, after ten years of being together, they learned to be tolerant of him. Since he was seven years old, Tsukasa never again spoke of Amane Mizuki. It was not until Mizuki started studying in Eitoku a year before that Tsukasa started to talk about her. Rui knew nothing because he was in France for their whole first year.

After ten years of separation, Tsukasa did not know how to approach her. And he didn't want to talk about it with the three. He was not good with girls; he believed that Soujiro and Akira would just give him stupid advices, or laugh at him instead.

Just after Soujiro and Akira told Rui everything they knew about Amane Mizuki, Tsukasa darted towards them.

"I'm leaving." Tsukasa said tersely as he turned in one swift motion.

"What? Again?"

"How busy can anyone be?"

"Oi! Pay for your drinks."

No matter how loud they called out, they were out of Tsukasa's earshot. He was already in the car on the way to the Doumyouji mansion.

As he stepped on the entrance, he was greeted by Nishida, the personal assistant of his father. Tsukasa was led to the Doumyouji sitting room.

Grandma Sayuri and Kaede looked at Tsukasa with concern painted on their faces as he entered the room and took a seat beside his grandmother. In front of him was his father with his characteristic poker face. Beside his father, there sat a man he had not yet met. The man looked very much like the lawyers he saw in American films.

"Tsukasa, this is Shirota-san; he is the lawyer of the Doumyouji Group and of your dead grandfather Kendo." Tsukasa's father introduced the lawyer-looking guy who was indeed a lawyer. "He will explain everything."

Shirota-san seemed startled. He wasn't informed that he would be the one to explain. He knew the character of Doumyouji Tsukasa so he had every right to be scared. He realized, though, that Tsukasa was surrounded by his family. Shirota-san clung to the belief that Tsukasa would not gash him if ever Tsukasa would get exasperated by what he would say.

"Tsu-Tsukasa-san, your grandfather left his last will and testament under my care. To put it simply, your grandfather wanted you to marry by the time you turn 18 to maintain the stability of the company. And to be sure that the marriage is not a hoax, you have to stay married for at least three years." Shirota-san said. He started to relax at Tsukasa's presence. It took some time before what Shirota-san said sunk in.

"I am 17! You want me to get married in a year's time?!" Tsukasa said indignantly.

"It is fine if you choose not to marry." Shirota-san offered.

"Oh." Tsukasa said taken aback.

"However, the company would be turned over to Hanazawa Rui-san who is second in line."

"Nani?!?"

"Doumyouji Tsunabi-san, Hanazawa-san's father should have been the president of the company. However, he died so your father took over. You, being the sole son of Tsubasa-san, have to option to take over the Doumyouji Group."

The news was enough to overwhelm any person, even the Doumyouji Tsukasa. As he analyzed the situation, he only had two choices: either he would marry when he turned 18 and be the president of a huge company OR he would let Rui do the job. He had never liked the idea of losing to someone. He certainly did not want to Rui to be the President instead of him. As his arrogant, self-righteous mind works, he believed that he was better for the job. Still, marriage at the age of 18 was unthinkable.

"Thank you, Shirota-san. Please allow us to have some private time." Tsukasa's father said as Shirota-san was escorted outside by Nishida.

Doumyouji Tsubasa faced his son with a look of dead seriousness on his face. "Tsukasa, you understand your responsibility, don't you? You have to be the next heir of the Doumyouji Group, not Rui."

"Yes, sir." Tsukasa answered politely to his father. Father and son had always been civil towards each other. Everything between them felt business-like.

"By the way, I invited Haruko and Rui to the connecting mansion. We are all blood-related anyway." Grandma Sayuri said, eager to ease the tension.

"Yes… I have already asked the servants to clean the place up and to add some furnitures." Kaede added, not knowing what to say.

That night, Tsukasa hardly slept.

He knew whom he was supposed to propose to.

He knew whom he wants to propose to.

It was evident, partly because she was the only girl she had spent time with.

The big question was: How?

How was he supposed to propose to a girl whom he hadn't spoken to for ten years?

He turned and turned on his bed for the whole night. When he looked out the window, beads of sunlight reached his eyes.

It was already morning and he was restless.

It was already morning and the question he was pondering all night was still left unanswered.

...to be continued...

**AN:**

Thank you for reading this chapter!

Review please.

It has been months since I last updated and I hate myself for that. I got too busy with my studies (or perhaps I was just too lazy to write). I believe writing needs inspiration and I have just recently gotten that inspiration.

To those who read and reviewed, thank you very much!

To **anime07, addieXmitsume**, **lhotshot83**, **blueprincess16**, **NorikoTheGhost**, **converse** and **Precious5881**, after reading your reviews once again, it made me realize how much I miss writing and how much I get encouraged by kind words.

I can't promise that I will update as regularly as possible.

Once again, any comments are highly appreciated and welcome...

Arigatou yo!


	7. Chapter 6 Facing Rejection and Defeat

AN: Suddenly got in the mood to write… It's vacation anyway.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango… sadly…

- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -

**~* Twists of Fate *~ **

_Chapter Six –Facing Rejection and Defeat_

_by: chocopeanutplease _

- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -

It was amazing how a person's mind can still function after a night without even a minute of sleep.

Tsukasa was rather commendable at that aspect. He still went to the F4 lounge to where the four of them usually hang out before classes start.

"Yo!" he greeted the three as normally as he possibly could. Even Rui who was always late was already there reading one of his pocketbooks.

"Tsukasa!" Akira said, rather startled.

"You look like shit." Soujiro said bluntly.

"I have to agree with that." Rui commented as he looked at Tsukasa's face after Soujiro's comment. "You haven't slept at all, have you?"

"Wha- What are you talking about, Rui? Ahaha! How would you even know what a person who hasn't slept would look like? You sleepyhead… Ahehe…" Tsukasa was trying to evade the question but he ended up looking dumb instead. He just received an amused stare from Rui.

"Tsukasa, what happened yesterday?" Akira queried.

"Ye- Yesterday? What are you talking about?" Tsukasa faked ignorance, but all the more did it seem suspicious. He even turned his back from them, as if ready to leave, or escape rather.

"That's right! You left early yesterday, didn't you? Did something happen, which makes you act weirdly today?" Soujiro asked.

'This can't be happening. I have to keep my composure.' Tsukasa thought. "I ate dinner yesterday!" He answered, keeping himself from stuttering at all cost. It was wholly true. He did, as a matter of fact, eat dinner. Still, what the matter his family discussed yesterday was something he could not tell… yet.

Doumyouji Tsukasa did not want them to know that he would be proposing that day. He somewhat knew that Soujiro and Akira would just laugh and give him stupid advices, and that Rui would just quietly listen to their conversation with no contribution at all. In fact, what Tsukasa feared the most was that if he told them and his proposal would get rejected, they would just laugh their asses out at his predicament.

How very wrong Tsukasa was. He didn't know yet how supportive his friends were no matter what situation he's caught himself in. Yes, they would laugh and make fun of him, but at the end of the day, the only ones he could rely on were the three of them. He just didn't know it at that time.

"Come on! We have to get going. We'll be late for classes." Tsukasa announced as he stepped forward and hurriedly paced towards their classrooms. Rui, of course, was in a different class, but their rooms were near anyway.

"Something's suspicious." Soujiro announced.

"Needless to say." Akira commented.

Rui looked lost in thought but he was the first to get up. "Don't you think you two should get going to your class and observe Tsukasa more?"

With that, they went to their respective classrooms.

As usual, Tsukasa was inattentive in class. Soujiro and Akira noticed this but it was not an uncommon scene. Tsukasa's chin rested on his left palm while his right hand was making doodles on his notebook. Statistics show that doodling can increase your listening abilities. Tsukasa believed on that fact ever since he read it on the Internet.

The morning passed like it normally did. Come lunch time, they went to the F4 lounge once again. The observation continued.

For lunch, Tsukasa, Soujiro and Akira ordered steak with lemon butter sauce. Rui, however had shrimp tempura.

"Rui, I never thought you've turned into a shrimparian! Ahahaha!" Tsukasa blurted out while his three friends were astounded at his, in a manner of speaking, humor.

"Got it? Vegetarian… Shrimparian… ahahaha!" Tsukasa continued.

"It's bad enough as it is without you explaining your joke." Soujiro commented.

"Rule Number One in Joke-Making: Never explain your jokes! If others did not understand your joke, just pretend that it wasn't really supposed to be a joke." Akira said, teaching Tsukasa who still continued laughing.

"What an _unman-like_ dish! You should have ordered something more of the steak type! Meat, bro! Meat! Ahaha!" Tsukasa commented quite confidently. Apparently, he did not listen to the comments of Soujiro and Akira.

"It's '_unmanly'_, idiot! And it has nothing to do with being a man! It's not as if eating seafoods or salads would make you less of a man." Rui reasoned out.

"Baka! Of course it does! As the saying goes, 'Real men should never be afraid of water!'" once again, Tsukasa said this with a confidence that can rival that of a best debater.

"WHAT???" the three chorused.

Technically, Tsukasa was not acting weird at that time. It was already a given that the great Doumyouji Tsukasa utters such weird ideas and destroys popular quotations or use them at the wrong situation. It was really nothing out of the ordinary. Still, Soujiro and Akira were suspicious and observed him throughout lunch time. Rui, however, noticed that Tsukasa's voice was tense unlike his usual deep confident tone.

As they were heading back to the classroom, Tsukasa still continued making stupid jokes and laughing stupidly at his own stupid jokes. However, as they were in front of 2-A, Tsukasa abruptly stopped talking as he watched someone enter class 2-B.

The three certainly noticed this, but it was also not out of the ordinary. Tsukasa always acted such when Mizuki was around but he still couldn't gather the courage to talk to her at least.

Classes continued and Tsukasa was anxious to hear the dismissal bell, but it would come. Dismissal would surely come. Time is just one of the inevitable things in life that everybody must face.

Before that time came, though, Tsukasa was formulating plans on how to approach Mizuki.

The question: how would a guy, who hasn't spoken for ten years to a girl he likes, suddenly ask her hand for marriage.

The answer? Well, Tsukasa was still trying to figure that out.

However, Tsukasa had another pressing matter to attend to. How on earth would he get rid of his three friends?

Option 1: Pretend that he has a club activity that he must attend to. Wait, he didn't have any club. He needed to join a club first. If he did join a club, he must attend the activities, thereafter. If he joined the club activities, he wouldn't have time to enjoy the pleasures of his life. All in all, option 1 was too troublesome.

Option 2: Invite the F4 to a club. Pretend to take an urgent phone call from home and then leave. Go to Eitoku and talk to Mizuki. Indeed Option 2 sounded more pleasant and feasible.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGG!!!

And that was the bell.

His mind was full of thoughts on how to get rid of his three friends that he didn't have time left to formulate plans for his proposal. He got too miserable at this fact which made him neglectful of his surroundings.

"Tsukasa, we would be leaving before you." Akira said.

"Yeah. We have dates, you know. Unlike you. Doumyouji Tsukasa, the eternal bachelor." Soujiro teased.

"We'll bring Rui along with us. Maybe we could turn him into a playboy as well." Akira said with a wink.

Tsukasa was very much taken aback at what his two friends just said. Instead of going with Option 2, the two guys gave him an Option 3, which is that they leave and let Tsukasa do his own thing.

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

Greetings of farewell were said until Tsukasa was left alone in the classroom. He got up and took his time to go to the Gymnastics Hall.

Little did he know that he was being observed by three people who were allotting all their energies to being discreet, in fear of being discovered by Doumyouji Tsukasa. They sure kept a low profile, with their mouths tightly zipped because they all know very well that they would be strangled to death once Tsukasa discovered that they were spying on him.

Before Tsukasa went to the Gymnastics Hall, he stopped by his locker. He changed and wore the Eitoku jacket to make him look just like everybody else. He put on a huge cap and sunglasses. It was one of those rare times when he didn't want to stand out too much. He didn't want girls, or even guys, to be gawking at him like he was a museum artwork. That day, he wanted only Mizuki to notice him. Only her.

Meanwhile, Makino Tsukushi had to stay for club activities as well. She was given punishment for leaving without cleaning on the day when she spilled water on Tsukasa.

"Are you going to be fine alone, Tsukushi? I can accompany you, if you like." Yuki offered. She was still worried that Tsukushi would get attacked because of her red tag, or worse, by the F4 themselves.

"I'm fine, Yuki. You still have to go to your part-time job, right? Don't worry! Don't worry!" Tsukushi smiled genuinely at Yuki to assure her that she would be fine.

"Just be careful, okay?" Yuki said, still worried.

"At hiding and escaping and trying not to stand out? I will." Tsukushi winked and waved goodbye to Yuki.

"So you were given a red tag, I've heard?" Yukimura, the club leader, said with a smile that connoted amusement. Tsukushi just ignored her and continued organizing the tubes of paint.

"Ehhh… Trying to act deaf, aren't you? It's called karma!" Yukimura's amusement was building up even more.

"Karma?" Tsukushi was caught by curiosity.

"Sou. Sou. You spilled water on Doumyouji Tsukasa and then you escaped from him and from club activities as well. This is your karma for being stubborn." Yukimura explained.

"Isn't it just 'punishment'?" Tsukushi asked. "When you say karma, it sounded too deep."

"Well, it was my intention to sound poetic." Yukimura said.

"Oh! Very impressive!" Tsukushi said as she clapped her hands and rolled her eyes, with sarcasm, of course.

"Anyway, just wash and clean all the paint brushes and then you may go." Yukimura instructed. Tsukushi merely nodded her head as she was still arranging the paint tubes.

"Bye!"

"What?! You're leaving?" Tsukushi asked Yukimura incredulously.

"Of course! As far as I know, I am not the one who is being detained today. Or would you like me stay to protect you from- "

"No need!" Tsukushi snapped and headed to the washroom to clean the paint brushes, leaving Yukimura who was watching her from afar.

There were actually no scheduled club activities that day so there were very few people. The probability that Tsukushi would come across the F4 or their cronies was approximately ten percent.

Tsukushi could relax a little. After all, ten percent probability is close to improbable.

However, as she was walking from the washroom back to the Art Club hall, someone pulled her tightly by the wrist and she ended up into a squatting position. As she searched for the culprit of her current position, she saw a familiar guy beside her who was still holding her wrist.

"Ha- Ha- Hana- " Tsukushi was stunned so badly that she could only stutter.

The guy immediately covered Tsukushi's mouth with his hand to keep her quiet; else she would thwart their plans. Two other guys wildly gestured with their index finger and lips to instruct Tsukushi to be quiet.

Tsukushi was even more shocked to see that they were the F4: Hanazawa Rui, Soujiro and Akira. So much for the ten percent probability of seeing the F4.

They were situated outside the Gymnastics Hall, very near the door but still unseen from the inside.

Indeed, the three friends stayed to watch, or listen to Tsukasa's conversation with Mizuki. Little did they know that what would happen was not just a mere conversation.

"It surely seems tough, huh?" Tsukasa suddenly spoke, unintentionally startling Mizuki.

"Tsukasa-kun! You surprised me! I thought I was alone." Mizuki said, as her body still felt the adrenaline from being surprised.

"Gomen. I didn't mean to surprise you. I was watching you for a while now." Tsukasa said rather apologetically.

"Why didn't you say anything when you entered?" Mizuki asked.

"I didn't mean to interrupt. And I must say, I sort of enjoy watching you practice." Tsukasa said. Actually, he enjoyed watching her. Period.

"I am currently practicing for the regional finals!" Mizuki said excitedly as she approached Tsukasa. "I was so ecstatic when I discovered that I passed the eliminations! I have been practicing SO hard since then. You know what? It has been my dream since I was young to be in the national Gymnastics championship and to join the Olympics! That's why I've been training so hard." Mizuki said with sparkling eyes. She seemed to be really enjoying herself.

"That's great!" was all Tsukasa could say. Seeing how happy Mizuki was, he doubted if he could propose to her at that time.

"It is, isn't it? Anyway, Tsukasa-kun, what brings you here?" Mizuki asked.

'This is it, huh? This is the moment.' Tsukasa thought. "M- Mizuki, I have an important, uhm, question." Tsukasa started.

Everyone, even the four eavesdroppers outside, tensed up in anticipation of what Tsukasa's question was.

"Will you, uhm, will you, uhm, Mizuki?" Tsukasa started.

"Will I… what?" Mizuki was starting to be immensely curious and nervous as to what Tsukasa's question was.

Tsukasa suddenly held Mizuki's hand and knelt.

The eavesdroppers couldn't see what was happening and they didn't dare peek in.

"Eh? What are you doing?" Mizuki tensed up even more.

Tsukasa was staring at Mizuki's eyes. Just as he was about to utter his question of proposal, fear of rejection took over him, so he just pretended to properly tie his shoelaces instead.

Mizuki giggled loudly. Tsukasa was taken aback at that.

"You're still as funny as ever, Tsukasa-kun! You just acted as if you were about to propose or something! Hahaha…"

"P- p- propose?!?" the four outsiders mouthed to thin air, with eyeballs enlarged in shock.

"What if, what if I did propose?" Tsukasa asked in spite of himself.

"What are you talking about? Hehe… There's no way I would marry at such a young age! And I told you, my dream is to compete! To be a professional gymnast! I would never let marriage get in the way," she answered, with sparkling eyes as if nothing could make her happier than aiming for that dream of hers.

Just looking at her, Tsukasa knew that he was facing a lost case. He should accept defeat and not embarrass himself any further.

"I see. That's great then. I wish you all the best…" Tsukasa said trying his best to sound enthusiastic.

RIIIIING!!!

Suddenly, a loud ringing came from Tsukushi's pocket, which made the eyeballs of the eavesdroppers bulge to the greatest extend. If Tsukasa discovered that they were eavesdropping, they would definitely face death in his hands. Without telling, they immediately ran for their lives. Rui yanked Tsukushi as they sprinted together at world-record speed.

As they left the building, they were all out of breath, but glad that they weren't caught.

"MAKINO!" Rui yelled. "Were you trying to kill us all?!"

"Gomen nasai!!" Tsukushi squeaked.

"Anyway, who was that call from?" Rui asked in a softer voice, thinking that he scared Tsukushi with his outburst.

"Ah!" Mizuki checked her phone and found out that the call that endangered all their lives was from her home. Just as she was about to call back, her phone rang once again.

"Moshi moshi."

"Tsukushi! Come home quickly! We have an emergency!" Tsukushi's mother answered on the phone, urgency evident in her voice. She hung up quickly as well.

"Oh no! I need to go home immediately! Ja!" Tsukushi said as she was starting to run once again. Her house was not that far from Eitoku; it was at running distance.

"Wait! We can take you to your home if you like." Soujiro offered sincerely without any intention of flirting with Tsukushi. It was nice to be in the mood for kindness once in a while.

"Yeah! It would be faster that way." Akira seconded.

After Tsukushi agreed, all four of them got on the F4 limousine. They reached Tsukushi's place in less than five minutes, thanks to Soujiro's exceptional driving skills. He took the liberty of driving instead of the official chauffeur because he knew he could drive it faster.

"Arigatou, minna!" Tsukushi said and then immediately darted inside the house.

"What could be her urgent business?" Rui wondered.

"More importantly, do you think Tsukasa got a chance to see us while we were escaping?" Akira asked. He was still disturbed at the thought that this could be his last day alive. Perhaps he should already start writing his last will and testament.

"I don't think so. It was already quite dark at that time. And Makino was with us. Even if he saw four human figures, he wouldn't suspect us because there was a girl." Rui thought of reasons and excuses that could spare them from Tsukasa's wrath.

"Anyway, what do you think Tsukasa and Mizuki are doing now?" Soujiro asked rather maliciously.

"Nothing. We ruined their momentum of conversation so they would just stop talking altogether." Rui answered. It made sense. Knowing Tsukasa, he would have lost courage to speak with a girl he likes after being disturbed.

"We might as well go home." Akira suggested; that they all did.

Rui's answer was exactly what had happened. After Tsukasa was distracted by the phone call, he bade goodbye to Mizuki all of a sudden, wishing her good luck. He didn't officially propose to her anymore. She as good as dumped him from what she said. Tsukasa noticed how happy Mizuki was to be able to compete and be a professional gymnast. He didn't want to ruin it for her.

Tsukasa was not that insensitive. Just by looking at her eyes, he knew that his proposal would be a lost case. He saved himself from the shame and self-pity of being dumped.

As long as she was happy, he was happy as well. That's what Tsukasa wanted to think.

- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -

Meanwhile, at the Makino residence, everyone was in low spirits.

"Mama, what happened?" Tsukushi demanded as she reached home. She was gasping for the second time that day.

"Tsukushi!" her mother hugged her as she cried. "Papa- Papa was laid off!"

"Eh?! No way! Where is he?"

"He went to the fishing village where your uncle lives to work as a fisherman. I am packing his clothes to bring it to him there." Mama said, obviously panicking. "Susumu is sick so take care of him, okay? I have to leave immediately. Take care, Tsukushi. Bye!"

Mama left just like that and Tsukushi was left with all the responsibility, being the firstborn.

Tsukushi entered Susumu's room.

"Nee-chan! Thank goodness you're here! All I've been hearing is Mama's panicky voice." Susumu said.

"How are you feeling?" Tsukushi asked as she changed the towel on Susumu's forehead.

"It's just a slight fever. It's no big deal." Susumu reassured his sister.

"Ah!" Tsukushi turned on the stereo player and put on Beethoven's Spring Sonata. "This is a nice tune. It will help you get better. Ah! I'll make your favorite corn soup!" Tsukushi said excitedly. The radiance illuminating from Tsukushi somewhat made her little brother feel better.

"Arigatou, nee-chan…" Susumu said faintly.

After she finished cooking the corn soup, she tried to place the bowl on the table.

"Ugh. Susumu, your table is unstable." Tsukushi said. "Wow. What I said even rhymed." Tsukushi went to her room and took the ring from one of her drawers. It was the plain ring that she found lying around days ago. She placed it under the table to keep it steady.

"Maybe I should find a part-time job as well." Tsukushi whispered after she finished feeding Susumu. Susumu fell asleep right away after eating his favorite corn soup. Afterwards, Tsukushi went to her room to sleep as well.

- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -

The following day…

Susumu was already up and about.

"It's all thanks to Nee-chan's corn soup. Bye!" he said to Tsukushi as he left for school.

Tsukushi owned a bike but there were times when she didn't use it to go to school to be able to exercise through walking. However, that day was not the time to be exercising; she was desperate.

She used her bike to go to Eitoku as soon as possible and to talk to Yuki. Just as she was at the entrance gate, she spotted Yuki entering their building. Tsukushi parked and chained her bike at the designated place and then ran after Yuki.

"Yuki!"

"Oh! Ohayou, Tsukushi!"

"Yuki, do you know some place where I can get a part-time job?" Tsukushi asked her friend urgently. It was supposedly for Yuki's ears only but unfortunately, there were many eavesdroppers and nosy people in Eitoku.

Asai Nuriko and her two cronies heard them.

"Ara! Red Tag Girl needs a part-time job! Ha ha ha!" Asai said too loudly as if announcing it to everyone around.

"What a pauper!"

"Your mere existence taints the reputation of this school!"

"It's none of your business, is it?" Tsukushi shouted at them, her temper taking over her. She had too many problems already; she didn't have time to deal with their taunts and mockery of her.

"Whoa! Red Tag Girl is trying to act all high and mighty!"

Just then, a first year girl bumped against Tsukasa who was passing by.

"Sumimasen, Doumyouji-san!" the girl apologized and bowed her head down.

"Do you know who I am?!"

Doumyouji Tsukasa's voice, more than anything else, caught the attention of Asai and his friends, as well as everybody around who could hear Tsukasa's voice.

"I… I…" the girl was at a loss for words. She was overcome with fright.

"How dare you bump on me?!" Tsukasa continued to terrify the girl.

"Hey, jerk! She already apologized! Now either accept her apology or shut up, or both! It's too early in the morning and you're already making such a racket!" Tsukushi said, apparently annoyed.

Tsukasa laughed, which made Tsukushi even more annoyed. She saw nothing funny with what she said.

"You are such an idiot!" Tsukasa said to Tsukushi. "How can I make a '_rocket_' no matter how genius I am? And how can a '_rocket_' fit inside this building with such a cramped space? Do you intend to blow up this school? nghis last will and testament.Hahaha! Baka onna! I can't believe there are people as stupid as you in Eitoku." Tsukasa said, still chuckling to himself.

Tsukushi stared at him with awe.

'So the Doumyouji Tsukasa that everyone is honoring and worshipping… is a complete and utter idiot!' Tsukushi thought and laughed to herself and turned around to head to the classroom. She was too amused at Tsukasa's stupidity that she didn't have time to be irritated at being called 'idiot'. The fact that she was called 'idiot' by the Idiot himself was too entertaining to bear.

It was all thanks to Tsukasa's stupidity that her mood got lighter.

She went to 2-C with Yuki and sat beside Rui.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Rui noticed.

"Well… My father got laid off and I have to take a part-time job to contribute money to our family's daily expenses." Tsukushi told what happened.

"Then, why do you seem so happy?" Rui was curious why a person with that much financial problem could still smile.

"It's just that your Idiot friend called me an 'idiot'… haha… The irony!" Tsukushi said, still giggling.

"Tsukasa?"

"How did you know? It could have been any of your two other F4 friends." Tsukushi wondered. 'Could this person be a psychic?'

"Tsukasa is the only Idiot friend I have." Rui said with his characteristic grin.

"Oh."

- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -

Fortunately, the shop where Yuki was working needed another worker. It was a cake and pastry shop and there was a job offer for a cashier.

"Okami-san, this is my friend, Makino Tsukushi." Yuki introduced Tsukushi to the store owner.

"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." Tsukushi said. She was very thankful to have a part-time job so she could help her family.

"Tsukushi-chan, you would be working as a cashier. Are you good at Math and Arithmetic?" Okami-san asked.

"I- " Tsukushi didn't know how to answer that one. She was BAD at Math and Arithmetic, but she did want a job as well. If her honesty would get in the way of her having a part-time job, she wouldn't want that.

"Tsukushi is great with numbers, Okami-san. Trust me." Yuki reassured Okami-san. It was a false reassurance but it was a reassurance anyway.

"Arigatou, Yuki." Tsukushi said appreciatively once they were out of Okami-san's earshot.

"I guess I have to tutor you." Yuki said with a sigh. Tsukushi returned an apologetic look to her.

- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -

At the Makino residence…

"I'm home!" Tsukushi said loudly as she took off her shoes near the front steps. As she entered the house, she found her mother and Susumu looking harassed, with their untidy hair and creased clothes. They appeared to be searching for something.

"Tsukushi, did you find a ring lying around the house?" Mama asked as she was still searching in the kitchen.

"A ring? Oh, you mean that silver, plain-looking ring?"

"Where is it?" Mama and Susumu chorused. They were doing their ring-hunt for hours now.

"I placed it under Susumu's table to keep it steady." Tsukushi said as she retrieved it in Susumu's room.

"Here."

Mama quickly snatched it from her and made sure that it was the ring that they had been looking for.

"Tsukushi, Susumu, sit down." Mama addressed her kids with and serious face, as if she was about to announce the death of someone close to them.

"We have a huge financial crisis." Mama started.

"If it is about the laid off thing, you've told me already. I already have a part-time job to contribute to our family's expenses." Tsukushi said.

"This is more serious. Your father had a 5 million yen debt to the loan sharks! I just discovered it this morning when they came trespassing in the house. Your father didn't even say anything about it!" Mama said, still terrified at what happened.

"They trespassed here?!" Susumu was in disbelief.

"They threatened our lives if we didn't pay them in two weeks." Mama said, now sobbing.

"Two weeks?!?" Tsukushi and Susumu chorused.

"Now Tsukushi, I have something to tell you. Your father didn't want you to know. But now I must disobey what he said. He was the one who caused all this mess anyway!" Mama said, as she was trying to regain composure.

She told Tsukushi about the lawyer who came into their house. She told her about the story of their grandfather who arranged Tsukushi's marriage to someone. The lawyer, Shirota-san left a ring to them just in case they would accept the proposed arranged marriage. However, Papa Makino threw the ring somewhere inside the house because he didn't want his precious daughter to be burdened with such a preposterous thing.

"They promised financial support for our family. You and Susumu would also be funded for your education." Mama talked about the advantages of the arranged marriage. "Tsukushi, as far as I can see, this is our only choice! This is the only way to save our family."

Tsukushi loved her family. She really wanted to save them from the financial crisis they were currently facing. However, to marry at her age was unacceptable to her. To marry someone whom she barely knew was even more unacceptable.

"There are other ways! Maybe, we could win in the lottery or something. Maybe, we have an unknown rich relative who could lend us money. Maybe-" Tsukushi was getting too desperate to come up with solutions.

"And maybe not. Tsukushi, the only feasible solution is that you agree to the arranged marriage and pray that the guy would agree as well." Mama tried to drive some sense into Tsukushi's head.

"What is the name of the guy, anyway?" Tsukushi asked, annoyed that she was at the brink of facing defeat. And the loser would be forced to marry.

"Haven't I told you yet? Tsukasa..." Mama said.

'No way! No! Certainly, there were many Tsukasas in Japan. It couldn't be THAT Tsukasa.' Tsukushi thought. However, her mother's next words confirmed her fear.

"Doumyouji Tsukasa."

"_NANI?!?"_

...to be continued...

There you go… As I've said earlier, I suddenly got into the mood to write.

To **Pilya** and **hana47jun**, yes, some scenes were based on the Princess Hours. Like the part when Tsukasa tried to propose. I modified it a little, though.

Anyway, has anyone watched Boys over Flowers? The Korean version… It's very nice! And very funny! Jun Pyo (Tsukasa) was very funny! He is so funny when he smiles. And Yi Jung (Soujiro) was very cute! It's a must-watch. But I cried more in Hana Yori Dango 2.

Thank you for reading!

I slept at 3 am just to finish this chapter. I hope you like it.

Please review! I get motivated to write just by reading your reviews…

Arigatou yo!

ried more in Hana Yori Dango 2.

it'ry funny! he version....


End file.
